Once a rival, always a rival! This might not be a rule that governs all in the world of F1, but this is certainly the case with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The two ardent rivals might not be battling it out on the track because of a clear difference in their machinery. However, this hasn’t stopped the two from taking personal jibes at each other from time to time. The Mercedes man picked up the belittle-baton ahead of the Italian GP to dismiss Verstappen’s superiority over his teammates. As always, Red Bull’s TP Christian Horner came to their star man’s rescue to return the favor to Hamilton with some verbal bashing.

Horner is no stranger to firing shots at Hamilton and Mercedes for their criticism of Red Bull. In fact, Horner, in the past, has launched personal attacks on the Brit. After Hamilton’s recent criticism regarding the level of competition and the comparative appreciation for Verstappen, Horner had to resort to some condemnation as well.

“He’s had different teammates, of course, and he’s always had the upper hand,” Horner said on Verstappen as quoted by F1 Maximaal. “It’s not just about beating your teammates, but also the rest of the field. Max has clearly demonstrated what he is capable of, and some drivers will probably prefer not to race with him in one team.” (Translated by Google)

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There is no doubt in Verstappen’s clear and obvious superiority and not just over his teammates since the start of the 2022 season. However, let’s look at what Hamilton is trying to point out.

What did Lewis Hamilton say that ticked off the entire Red Bull team?

The Brit was on top of the sport for almost a decade before it all came crashing down in 2022. Watching from the backseat, Hamilton has noticed in the last couple of seasons, Verstappen has been widely appreciated for his superiority over his teammate Sergio Perez.

Now the minister of defense is no slouch. However, the world champion is expected to beat his teammate on most, if not all, occasions. This was the case and expectations from Hamilton as well during his era of dominance and even now. So the Brit has pointed out how he was never appreciated for beating his teammates, whereas the media has hyped this exact scenario in Verstappen’s case.

Hamilton said, “In my personal opinion, Valtteri and all my teammates have been stronger than the teammates Max has had.” 

The Mercedes man indicates how beating Perez is not as big of an achievement compared to his rivalry with Bottas. This is exactly why he believes the media hype is over the top.

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Agree or not, one can never compare two drivers in two different cars in two different eras. However, the media can definitely play a role in making a scenario bigger than it is. From a third perspective, do you agree or disagree with Hamilton?