Sir Lewis Hamilton was on his way to winning his eighth world championship when Max Verstappen denied him that chance in the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. Since then, the Dutch driver has reached an invincible status. He has been unstoppable in the last few years. The Dutchman won a record 15 races in 2022 and then followed it by 19 GP wins last year. On the other hand, the Mercedes superstar has been struggling since 2022 to be in the title contention because of their poor car. The Silver Arrows introduced a zero sidepod concept that ruined the car in 2022.
Due to the concept, the car had a lot of porpoising issues that caused too much bouncing for the drivers to control. Moreover, the big shock was when Mercedes repeated the same concept in last year’s car. As a result, the German team stayed winless in 2023. Lewis Hamilton has been winless since 2022. Toto Wolff knows they really need to get the car right if they want to help Hamilton get to his eighth Driver’s championship. However, lately, an F1 Pundit said Hamilton won’t be able to beat Max Verstappen even driving the same machinery.
Why F1 Expert Thinks Lewis Hamilton Can’t Beat Max Verstappen Driving The Same Car?
Recently, in an interview on the YouTube channel, Cameron F1, Peter Windsor mentioned George Russell will take a lot of points from the seven-time champion. It is not like the duo of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. Checo won’t take many points from Max in equal machinery, as the last two years proved just that. Windsor thinks even Carlos Sainz Jr. won’t be able to take as many points from Charles Leclerc as Russell would from Hamilton. That is why Windsor believe Lewis Hamilton will have a much more steeper hill to climb if all three teams provide equal cars. It is because he has a more competitive teammate in George Russell.
However, to counter Peter Windsor’s argument, James Allison told Sky Sports that both Mercedes drivers are capable of winning the title if they have the right car. The Mercedes technical director mentioned that Hamilton proved last year that he is still clearly a World Championship material. After all, Lewis Hamilton was the highest-scoring driver other than the Red Bull duo. However, George Russell made a couple of errors last year. Albeit, Allison mentioned there were a few races where Russell showed his true class.
Mercedes Technical Director Has Faith In Their Drivers
Moreover, James Allison mentioned all they need to provide the drivers is a strong and fast car. If the Russell-Hamilton duo gets the right equipment, Allison has no doubt that they will be very good. Lewis Hamilton finished third last year. In the case of George Russell, Allison said despite struggling, the young racer had a few great outings in 2023.
Anyway, it has been a good learning experience for the young British driver, only in his second season with the German team. Hence, the Mercedes chief believes if both drivers fight well and hard enough, either of them can be world champions. As per Allison, Lewis Hamilton then can be able to Max Verstappen, after all.
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