Marko did not take Hamilton departure seriously: 'Otherwise turmoil'

Lewis Hamilton gave a sign of life on Saturday night for the first time in weeks, suggesting he would continue in Formula 1. It does not cause Helmut Marko any surprise at all on his face, he tells Sport1.

The British driver looked set to win his eighth world title last season in the final race in Abu Dhabi, but it ultimately went wrong for him. Nicholas Latifi's crash suddenly put Max Verstappen on a fresher tire right behind him, and it was only a cold snap for the Dutchman to beat his rival.

Hamilton felt that the role of the race committee during the Grand Prix was crucial and therefore angrily left the circuit. He then decided not to say anything for weeks and behind the scenes to push for changes at the FIA. As the new season approached, a new response from Hamilton could not be long in coming. On Saturday night, he wrote on Instagram, "I've been gone. Now I'm back!"

Red Bull Racing advisor Marko had already not assumed that Hamilton would leave. "Normally there would be turmoil if there was any truth in the departure," he reveals. "Then panic would set in behind the scenes to replace Lewis. But there was nothing: no phone calls and not even internal speculation. Neither with us nor anywhere else."