168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton has received some rare glowing praise from Red Bull’s Helmut Mark꧒o.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton took his first pole position for Ferrari for the sprint race at the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, beating Red Bull’s 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen by 0.018s.

Marko, not 🌸usually one to commend Hamilton, described the 40-year-old Briton’s performance in just his second competitive outing with Ferrari as “unbelievable.♌”

"I think they had an unlu🔯cky event in Melbourne," Marko told. "But here, from the first session on, Ferrari was strong.

“And I mean, congratulat🎶ions to Hamilton in his second race to be in pole position. It's against Leclerc, who is a fantastic qualifier. It means it's an unbelievable achievement.”

Asked if he considers Ferrari to be a threat to Verstappen, Marko replied: "It's difficult to say. With this new asphalt, I'm sure degradation will be le𝕴ss and less during the next couple of events.

“And then we'll seꦺe who can go this speed for a race distance.”

Helmut Marko previously doubted Lewis Hamilton

Before the season started, Marko had exp🥀ressed doubts that Hamilton could challenge Verstappen for the world championship this season.

Speaking to German publication Bild, the 81-year-old Austrian named McLar꧋en and Ferrari as the biggest threat to Red Bull, but questioned the capabilities of their drivers.

“The two race teams [McLaren and Ferraꦯri] had the best base for their cars last ꦛseason and were able to perform well on most circuits,” Marko said.

“Thꦅey can build on that, but none of the drivers stand out for me. Charles Leclerc is good in qualifying but makes a lot of mistakes in the races.

“And Lewis Hamilton still has the speed, but can he keep that up for a whole season? I have my doub𝓀ts about that.

“Even if he has a good Ferrari and we build a mediocre Red Bull for Max, I would put🥂 my money on Max.”

Former F1 title rivals Hamilton and Verstappen are set for𒊎 their firs✱t battle of 2025 as they line-up on the front-row together for Saturday’s shorter sprint race.