Lewis Hamilton has made Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko eat his words, following a recent comment made by the 80-year-old.
It was announced by Mercedes on Thursday that Hamilton and George Russell would be remaining with the Silver Arrows until the end of 2025, with the seven-time World Champion having finally agreed to a two-year contract extension.
According to The Telegraph, Hamilton’s new deal is believed to be worth £50 million a year, starting from 2024.
Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen reportedly earns a similar amount or slightly less than the 38-year-old, meaning Hamilton might have regained the spot as the sport’s highest-earner.
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This isn’t confirmed though, yet it does make Marko look slightly silly.
Marko previously insisted that earning less than Verstappen annoyed Hamilton, something which appears to no longer be the case.
“There are two things that really annoy Hamilton,” Marko told F1-Insider.
“Firstly, that he is no longer world champion and will have a hard time becoming one again in the future.
“Apart from the sporting perspective, Lewis is anything but happy about the fact that he is no longer the best-earning driver in Formula 1.
“That is now Max Verstappen. At least he could change that with Ferrari’s help.”
As Hamilton is going to be around until at least the end of 2025, the 103-time race winner will also have two more opportunities to dethrone Verstappen and claim an unprecedented eighth world title.
There is nothing the Mercedes driver wants more than to claim another title, although he recognises that it’s going to take a lot to defeat Red Bull and Verstappen.
Despite this, he knows that himself and the Silver Arrows have “never been hungrier to win”.
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“Being at the top does not happen overnight or over a short period of time,” said Hamilton, as reported by the Express.
“It takes commitment, hard work and dedication and it’s been an honour to earn our way into the history books with this incredible team.
“We have never been hungrier to win. We have learnt from every success but also every setback. We continue to chase our dreams, we continue to fight no matter the challenge and we will win again.”