Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, together, set the perfect example of what it takes to become an ideal rival. Max Verstappen apparently “behaves” differently when he finds the seven-time world champion ahead of him. It is not surprising when they criticize each other; what’s surprising is to see them speaking in favor of each other. Recently, Max surprised Formula One fans by giving a very polite statement about Mercedes. When the rest of the world and Verstappen’s fans started criticizing Mercedes for its downfall in the 2022 season, Max Verstappen himself began to believe in Mercedes’s strong comeback in 2023.
Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen’s biggest rival, lost the 2022 season very badly. He was supposed to come back after the defeat of 2021 and clinch his eighth title, but he even worse thing happened, and he again got defeated by Verstappen. Lewis not only failed to get into the title contention but he also got beaten by his teammate George Russell by 34 points in the driver’s standings. Max Verstappen became a back-to-back champion, while Hamilton became a back-to-back loser. With these scores, Verstappen must have said a proud word against Mercedes. But instead of having even a little sense of pride, Max tends to predict a setback for Mercedes next season.
According to the former Red Bull driver Mark Webber, the two-time world champion has a very polite view of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Max has admitted that in 2023 there will be more intense battles between Ferrari and Mercedes. He says “for sure” Lewis Hamilton will be back in title contention next season. Unlike 2022, the reigning champion wants Lewis Hamilton to come forward in 2023 and enhance a three-way battle for the championship.
Ferrari Was Challenging, But Max Verstappen Believes They Have Big Gap
Meanwhile, for Ferrari, Max Verstappen has suggested that despite being so close, there is a surprising gap in between. Several times, it was Charles Leclerc versus Max Verstappen. The Scuderia’s ace even succeeded in beating Verstappen in four races. But as soon as Red Bull launched the improvements upgrades, team Ferrari could not make any more wins. However, he still managed to fight with Sergio Perez, replacing him with the runner-up position. Leclerc’s outstanding performance has Ferrari’s expectations even higher.
This year Carlos Sainz won one race. But, he would have won more only if Ferrari had brought the required upgrades. But as they had already reached the cost cap, no upgrades or improvements were launched. As a result, F1-75 became slower than the initial pace and got defeated by Max Verstappen with the strongest RB18. However, for the upcoming season, the prancing horses are bringing a new “bomb” like an engine that will definitely be stronger than the previous season. So, with no doubt, one can say that in 2023 there will be a three-team competition.
For the overall review of Red Bull’s performance, Max Verstappen explained, “There were not many weekends where Red Bull was really dominant. [Several times, Max Verstappen had to fight with Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and even Lewis Hamilton]. However, in the end, I am pretty happy with how things turned out. Especially after what happened in the 2021 season.”
