Lewis Hamilton humbles Red Bull chief after smug Max Verstappen comment

Lewis Hamilton has stung Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko by signing a lucrative new Mercedes contract. The Austrian poked fun at the seven-time world champion earlier this year for trailing Max Verstappen in the salary charts, but Hamilton’s fresh deal has moved him back to the top of the pile. The Silver Arrows announced on Thursday that Hamilton and George Russell would be staying with the team for the next two seasons. There had been fierce speculation that Hamilton would look to round off his career with a spell at Ferrari. But the Brit stayed loyal to Mercedes, who have repaid his faith by sanctioning a mega £50million-per-year contract, according to The Telegraph . While reports of Verstappen’s salary vary, the vast majority estimate the Red Bull star to be pulling in £50m or lower. Hamilton may therefore take extra joy in his new agreement, which is due to come into effect from the 2024 season onwards. Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news. https://chat.whatsapp.com/BGhAW6w1fQo2rdPhyeAljB Lewis Hamilton has signed a big-money two-year deal with Mercedes (Image: GETTY) Back in May, Marko smugly claimed that an ‘annoyed’ Hamilton would only be able to compete with Verstappen’s salary if he joined Ferrari. “There are two things that really annoy Hamilton,” the 80-year-old 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.” Helmut Marko took a pop at Lewis Hamilton’s salary status earlier this year (Image: Getty) “Being at the top does not happen overnight or over a short period of time,” said the 38-year-old. “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.”