09/09/2020
NEWS STORY
Speaking in the wake of the Belgian Grand Prix, in a move most might find unwarranted, Lewis Hamilton suggested that Red Bull needed a stronger partner for Max Verstappen, claiming that the lack of another regular, high-point scorer was compromising the Austrian team in its battle with Mercedes for the Constructors' Championship.
A week later, and following his popular win at Monza, the world champion threw his weight behind Gasly, insisting that it was unfair the Frenchman "wasn't given the time to develop" at Red Bull.
"He's now gone to the B-team and now he's beat the A-team from the B-team," he said. "That puts a big smile on my face because I think he truly deserves it. He deserves a place back in the top team.
"It's a great result for that team also," he added. "It's a young top three. Not the best of days for me but I still enjoyed it."
However, according to Marko, it was Hamilton who suggested dropping Gasly in the first place last year.
"The truth is Lewis spoke to our team boss Christian Horner on the plane and recommended that Albon be put in the car instead of Gasly," he told Sport1.de. "That was before the swap was carried out by us after the summer break.
"The one he wanted to get rid of last summer has now won the Italian Grand Prix with our AlphaTauri team... so much for his expertise!" added the Austrian.
"I have no idea why Hamilton always feels compelled to get involved, but it doesn't matter to us what opinion people from the outside have."
While Gasly also believes that he has earned the right to return to Red Bull, Marko insists that this is not currently on the agenda.
"These are not our plans," said the Austrian. "We want to make AlphaTauri even stronger in the future and that includes Gasly, they need a strong team leader."
Referring to Alex Albon, he said: "Everyone falls away against Max. But the criticism of Albon is not entirely fair, he was unlucky this year and we made strategic mistakes that affected his performance."