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“Records Are Meant to Be Broken”: Acknowledging Max Verstappen’s Looming Threat, Lewis Hamilton Returns to the Drawing Board to Slow Him Down

Published 06/16/2023, 11:15 AM EDT

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via Reuters

With 103 wins under his belt, Lewis Hamilton sits right on top of all drivers in F1. But he has not been invincible. Especially with his formidable rival Max Verstappen leading the new wave of F1 talent, Lewis’s crown seems to be under threat. Plus given how Max is piling up wins in the past 2 years, it is an ominous sign for the Briton. The Dutchman has won all but two races so far this year and is way clear of Hamilton in the championship standings. Could he be the one to break Hamilton’s record in the coming few years?

Lewis Hamilton believes Verstappen has the potential to do so. According to Racefans.net, Lewis said, “He’s [Max Verstappen] got a very long career ahead of him so absolutely. Ultimately records are there to be broken and he’s got an amazing team.” Hamilton knows he has to work hard to keep his record safe. He hopes to have more close battles with Verstappen before he retires. But, can Mercedes provide him with a car again to do so?

via Imago

Hamilton continued to hope for fighting Verstappen once again, I hope we get to have some, at least within the last period of time in my career, I hope we get to have some more close racing.” It is clear that the British driver is willing to go back to the drawing board with the Silver Arrows to produce another race-winning car. Although, it will be another uphill challenge for Lewis to match the rich form Max is in.

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Hamilton added about his efforts to slow Max’s juggernaut, “Max has been doing an amazing job, he’s had such an incredible career so far and he is for sure going to surpass that. I’m working on getting the car to where it needs to be so we can slow him down.”

Verstappen is already 6th on the list of all-time F1 winners, behind Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost, & Ayrton Senna. If he wins the Canadian GP, he will equal Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 wins. Hamilton remembers how special it was to match Senna’s record of 65 pole positions in 2017. So, imagine how Max would feel about getting that 41st win.

How realistic is Max Verstappen’s chance of beating Lewis Hamilton on All-Time Wins?

Max Verstappen is not too concerned about the numbers. He said it is hard to compare different drivers from different eras. “People always have different kinds of careers. Maybe some drivers, they get into a race-winning car sooner than others. Nowadays, of course, we have more races than back in the day. So I never really look at the number.”

via Reuters

The Dutchman admitted that Hamilton’s record will be “very hard to beat”. He said he is not aiming for that goal. He said, “I’m just going with the flow and enjoying the moment.”

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Verstappen has been enjoying a lot of moments this year. Winning races & leading the championship by a comfortable margin. He has shown his speed, skill, and consistency in every condition. Could he make Red Bull win every race this season? That would be unprecedented in F1 history.

Verstappen thinks that is unlikely. “If you look at how we are performing now, yes [we could], but it is very unrealistic, I think, because there will always be things that will go wrong in the season that will prevent you from doing that,” he said.

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WATCH THIS STORY | Bromance moments between Max Verstappen & Lewis Hamilton

The battle between Hamilton and Verstappen has been one of the most exciting stories in F1 right now. It could also be one of the most historic ones if Verstappen manages to break Hamilton’s record someday.

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Written by:

Pulkit Jai

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Pulkit is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports. With a strong academic background in engineering, he possesses an in-depth understanding of the intricate mechanics and technology driving Formula 1 racing. This expertise allows him to offer insightful analysis, exploring the technical aspects of the sport and shedding light on the innovative advancements that shape the world of F1.
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Edited by:

Aishwary Gaonkar