Formula 1 has been a sport of eras. There was a time when Michael Schumacher reigned over it. Then came Sebastian Vettel, in the turbo-hybrid era, Lewis Hamilton forged a dynasty with Mercedes and finally, now in the latest era of the sport, Max Verstappen reigns supreme over us all. However, now that the 7x champion is on the other side of the coin, he introspected hard to realize his own folly.

Hamilton, in the recent past, has been very vocal about the need for the FIA to intervene and stop the dominance of Red Bull and Verstappen. In the aftermath, he faced a lot of backlash, most notably by Verstappen himself, who deemed Hamilton’s sentiments as hypocritical. Neither did the FIA deem it fit to intervene as they turned a blind eye to the Brit’s concerns. Now, the 38-year-old has attempted to clarify his stance.

Lewis Hamilton still hopes for a respite

One thing is for sure, the FIA will not intervene, at least not overtly. But after the backlash the Brit faced, he deemed it appropriate to explain himself. While hinting at possible remorse for his own dominance, Hamilton expressed his hope for the future.

He was quoted by F1 Maximaal as saying, “I think they changed the rules, put in a budget cap to level the playing field, but that didn’t happen. So, all I’m saying is we need to continue the conversation. At the moment, if we leave things as they are, maybe it will be Ferrari who has several years of dominance, and then it will be someone else, maybe McLaren or maybe Mercedes will return,” while speaking to Channel 4 [translated via Google Translate]

Is Lewis Hamilton really being a hypocrite?

Read More: Toto Wolff Resorts to Lame Excuse as Lando Norris & Co.’s Aggressive Development Leaves Mercedes Exposed

Hamilton remorseful for his own success

Hamilton has suggested capping Red Bull’s advantage by putting an embargo on when a team can start developing next season’s car. However, as he is being targeted as a hypocrite for being someone who was in Verstappen’s shoes before, he’s come out clean about his lessons.

He said, “The truth is we’ve talked about this. We have had conversations even when we were dominant ourselves. I remember there were times when we had good battles with Ferrari, but I also remember times when we had a big gap. It didn’t feel real to me.”

Can Max Verstappen and Co. be caught this season?

WATCH THIS STORY | Will Max Verstappen Retire Early from F1?