The thing about Formula 1 is that before a driver sets out to establish their superiority over the entire field, they first have to outperform their teammate. Fortunately for Lewis Hamilton, he believes he’s had teammates who have challenged him throughout his career—all 17 years (and counting) of it. Having gotten the better of them in 14 of those 17 years, it’s become evident that the seven-time champion deserves all the praise that attributes him to being one of F1’s all-time greats. But as per him, Max Verstappen isn’t all that he’s made out to be.

If there’s one thing Max Verstappen is known for, it’s his ability to absolutely annihilate his teammate along with the rest of the field. While Daniel Ricciardo outscored the Dutchman in his first full season with Red Bull in 2017, every season after has seen his teammates play second-fiddle. Well, according to Hamilton, it’s not Verstappen; it’s his teammates.

Verstappen’s teammates don’t come close to the teammates Lewis Hamilton has had

Hamilton isn’t regarded as one of F1’s all-time greats just for the sake of it. Over the years, while becoming statistically the most successful driver in the sport, he also built a reputation for outperforming his teammates, no matter who they were. He believes every one of them has been stronger than the ones Verstappen has faced in his career. In an interview with Sky Sports Italia, as quoted by F1 Maximaal, “In my opinion, Valtteri [Bottas] and all my other teammates were stronger than the teammates that Max had,” [Translated by Google] said Hamilton. 

He continued, “You know, all [my teammates] were very strong and very consistent, and Max doesn’t race against anyone like them.” The Brit believes that—despite how formidable Verstappen has proved to be in the past few years—the Dutchman gets much more credit than Hamilton ever did. Hamilton added, “The story in the media is always that if I qualified six-tenths ahead of Valtteri, they did not say the same thing as what is now being said if Max qualified six-tenths ahead of Sergio Pérez. It gets blown up a lot more.” 

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Discussing these comments, F1 pundit Martin Brundle slammed Hamilton, saying, “That is Lewis’ opinion, and he has made it quite clear. He doesn’t want to give Max any breathing space or compliment him at all. I’m surprised how tough he was. Lewis doesn’t want to give anything away.”

Lewis Hamilton Fires Insult at Sergio Perez & Co to Belittle Max Verstappen’s Dominance

By saying what he said, Hamilton didn’t just discredit teammates like Ricciardo (and occasionally Perez) but also undermined their talent. But it’s not just the Dutchman’s teammates he’s undermined, it’s Verstappen as well. Hamilton saying this, especially after his “I’m not revengeful” comment, seems odd, doesn’t it?

Lewis Hamilton let Verstappen off the hook and then brought him down

Hamilton and Vertappen’s rivalry started (and withered away) in 2021 as they battled each other in a season-long championship fight. Throughout the year, there were moments here and there that brought to light the tensions between them, and it all boiled over in the season finale in Abu Dhabi. That infamous night was one of the most controversial things to have happened in F1, and needless to say, it didn’t sit well with Hamilton. 

After finally signing a contract extension with Mercedes following prolonged negotiations, the seven-time champion revealed he has “unfinished business” with Mercedes, highlighting his motivation to win more championships. According to a YouTube video by The Race, “Discussing his new contract at Monza, Hamilton refused to acknowledge his controversial 2021 defeat to Max Verstappen as a key motivator, saying, ‘I’m not really a revenge person. It’s not about revenge.’” 

Even though Lewis Hamilton doesn’t hold Max Verstappen accountable for that infamous night, it looks like he isn’t too keen to give the reigning champion the same credit everyone else gives him. What do you think about all this? Was Brundle right to slam Hamilton for his beliefs?

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