Sir Lewis Hamilton lost his grip on the title last year. The main reason for that is the Mercedes car which has been a big disappointment since 2022. Moreover, the car was showing a bit of a problem in 2021 too. That’s why Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was able to win as many races as to break the streak of Lewis Hamilton finally. In 2021 Hamilton was on his way to win his eighth title and consecutive fifth. But Max Verstappen ended the domination of the seven-time champion in 2021. Later in 2022, Red Bull built the fastest car on the grid, helped Max win 15 races, and helped the team win 17 overall.
The Austrian team is just continuing the domination from last year, as they have won 12 races in a row. Mercedes introduced several upgrades since the Monaco Grand Prix. But they have not been able to win a single race. Is there any way the seven-time champion can beat the current double-time champion, who is on his way to his third title? Recently, Richard Bradley, Le Mans winner, mentioned the only way Lewis Hamilton can beat Max Verstappen is in the rain.
Le Mans Winner Says, The Only Way Lewis Hamilton Can Beat Max Verstappen Is In The Rain
Bradley believes that if the seven-time champion is able to do a rain dance, then he can defeat the Dutchman. The British Le Mans winner, on the podcast show, On Track GP, mentioned that Lewis Hamilton could give Verstappen a serious run for his money in rainy conditions. There is a rain forecast for the Belgian Grand Prix. Only time will tell if Hamilton can redeem himself in Spa, Belgium. For all three days of the Grand Prix in Belgium, there is a chance of rain most of the time. Moreover, Richard Bradley mentioned that everybody knows that Lewis Hamilton is really an expert at racing in the rain, like Ayrton Senna. That is the only chance Hamilton has to beat Max in the 2023 season.
On the other hand, the Le Mans winner predicts the young 25-year-old racer George Russell can be a dark horse in Belgium. The former Williams driver displayed good pace in Hungary as he jumped from P18 to P6 in the end. Hence, Richard Bradley believes if Russell finishes in the top two rows in the qualifying session, then he can push for a P2 finish behind Lewis Hamilton. But the way things stand, even Bradley knows that beating Verstappen won’t be easy at all, even in the rain. Hence, Bradley gave his second opinion on the podcast, saying, Max would win again, Lewis would come second, and Russell might get a P3 finish.
It Won’t Be Easy To Beat Max Whenever That Happens
So far in the season, George Russell got only a single podium with the exact same second prediction of Bradley. But that happened in the Spanish Grand Prix. After 11 races in 2023, as it stands, Red Bull is still undefeated. Max Verstappen has won nine Grands Prix overall and seven in a row. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton managed to get a pole position in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
It was his first pole since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. But he could not capitalize on that as the Dutchman emerged victorious once again. For Hamilton, he had to settle at P4, not even a podium finish. But he will continue to fight for winning his eighth title. Then in next year perhaps, the fans can see an exciting battle between Verstappen and Hamilton.
