As Max Verstappen attempts to retain his F1 title in 2022, Red Bull fears competition from Carlos Sainz Jr from Ferrari, a surprise to some that Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes isn’t mentioned.

The Formula 1 season will resume in March and the question is who will succeed Max Verstappen as world champion. At the wheel of his Red Bull, the Dutchman intends to retain his crown, but there is competition.

Lewis Hamilton, if he starts well which is debatable since his ‘silence’ strike, will undoubtedly be looking for revenge and will try to win an eighth world championship title. But other drivers could also be in the fight. At Red Bull, Carlos Sainz Jr, currently at Ferrari, is feared.

“Carlos can fight for the title”

Helmut Marko made a big announcement about Carlos Sainz Jr’s possible chances for the world championship title. The Red Bull boss explained:

“Carlos is a very good driver. The new rules make it difficult to predict this season. But if Ferrari does a great job on its new car, Carlos can definitely fight for the title.”

Marko was also keen to set the record straight after ‘misinterpreted’ comments from Thailand’s Alexander Albon, who recently insinuated that Red Bull had put too much energy into the 2021 title battle and would therefore be lagging behind the development of its 2022 car.

Alexander Albon played a crucial role in the development of the 2022 single-seater at Red Bull working in the simulator throughout 2021. But the now Williams driver also revealed in an interview a few days ago that he had worked a lot on the development of the 2021 car, especially at the end of the year, when the Milton Keynes team focused all their resources on the fight for the world title, then ceasing to focus on the 2022 car .

But according to Helmut Marko, the words of his former driver were misinterpreted and the Austrian ensures that the development of the RB18 is on time.

“Albon’s statements have been misinterpreted. All I can say is that we want to defend Max Verstappen’s title and we are very well placed to do so.” Helmut Marko told F1Insider .

“We had two different development programs going on in 2021. Both worked. So there’s no reason to believe we and Mercedes aren’t favorites again this year, unless someone has found the philosopher’s stone in the new regulations.” concludes Marko.