'Better to have a hierarchy': Marko’s fears in Verstappen-Hamilton partnership

Red Bull’s driver line-up has been a hot topic in F1 2023 given their dominance and lack of competition for Verstappen.

Despite a strong start, Sergio Perez quickly faded away, allowing Verstappen to win eight consecutive races.

Perez has a contract for 2024, however, his future with the team beyond that remains in doubt.

Marko cited Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, and their titanic rivalry, as to why it’s important to have a “hierarchy” within a team.

Thus, Marko ruled out Hamilton ever joining Red Bull, but still left the door open for McLaren’s Lando Norris.

“The public, the TV viewers and the journalists will certainly love that,” he told Motorsport Magazin.

“But we as team management want success and we want to win the championship - if possible both the Drivers' and Constructors'. 

“Then it is better if you have a hierarchy, where it is clear who is the clearly faster number one and who is the number two driver.

“Norris I can still imagine but with Hamilton as a teammate, I have a hard head. 

“The whole team atmosphere and our performance should not suffer. In the past, we saw, for example, Senna and Prost, two superstars, who only looked at each other and put the team in second place."