P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko thinks a driver with a Mercedes engine will win this year’s F1 title in 2026. That’s not good for Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
Former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has given a worrisome prediction for the 2026 F1 season, suggesting that a driver with Mercedes power will likely secure the championship, posing a challenge for Max Verstappen, the four-time champion.
Marko anticipates a significant shift in the competitive landscape as Formula 1 undergoes major regulatory changes in 2026, emphasizing that the technical complexity of the new rules could create substantial performance gaps between manufacturers, favoring Mercedes in particular.
He believes that the gap between teams will widen considerably under the new regulations, expressing concerns about multiple variables such as power units, chassis design, and battery performance that could lead to significant time differences between competitors.
Drawing parallels to Mercedes’ dominant performance in 2014 under the turbo-hybrid regulations, Marko hopes that the differences in performance levels won’t be as vast this time around but acknowledges that Mercedes appears to be leading the way in engine development for the future season.
