Formula 1: Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko criticised for ‘cheap shot’ at Lewis Hamilton

Marko joked that Hamilton should have retired last season

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have struggled at the start of the 2022 season (Getty Images)

Former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert has criticised Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko for taking a “cheap shot” at Lewis Hamilton.

Marko jested that Hamilton should have retired at the end of last season as the seven-time champion is struggling in his Mercedes this campaign. The British driver is off pace, which sees him down in seventh in the drivers’ standings.

Herbert said that, while Marko takes jibes at Hamilton, he would want the Briton to drive for Red Bull.

He told Sky Sports: “What a cheap shot. Typical Helmut Marko and Red Bull to be honest. After everything that happened last year, and what a battle there was between Max [Verstappen] and Lewis and of course Red Bull and Mercedes, it went down to the wire.

“The race at the end of the year as we know was completely and utterly wrong. But it was the man who dominated the last part of the year, that was Lewis Hamilton.

“It shows that he was on fire at the end of last year. Would they want him in their car, yes they would. But they know he’s a big threat for them once Mercedes get everything together and they start battling for those race wins again.”

Verstappen won the drivers’ title for Red Bull on the final lap of the 2021 season, overtaking Hamilton after a controversial decision from then-F1 race director Michael Masi involving the safety car.

Mercedes have been having trouble this season, with porpoising with Hamilton’s teammate George Russell saying he is feeling chest and back pain from the issue.

“The bouncing, it really takes your breath away. It’s the most extreme I’ve ever felt it,” Russell said at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend. “I really hope we find a solution and I hope every team struggling with the bouncing finds a solution, because it’s not sustainable for the drivers to continue.

“This is the first weekend I’ve truly been struggling with my back, and almost like chest pains from the severity of the bouncing.”