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Lewis Hamilton’s Prophecy Comes True as Max Verstappen Admits to “Tricky” Issues Before Grabbing Astonishing Pole

Published Aug 26, 2023 | 12:30 PM EDT

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Max Verstappen is a different breed. The Red Bull racing ace has been dominating the entire field this season. His exploits have been so predatory and clinical that he’s being dubbed as a robot now! However, with everyone scratching their heads as to how they can overcome the Dutch lion, his arch nemesis, Lewis Hamilton seems to have figured the 2x champion out. With the 7x champion making a prophecy in the build-up to the Dutch GP, Verstappen only went on to prove him right with an astonishing pole lap!

Things weren’t smooth sailing (pun intended!) for any of the drivers out there today. Even though Verstappen has been a class apart this season, he too, struggled with the changeable conditions during Qualifying. But how did Hamilton predict Verstappen’s predicament and eventual triumph?

Lewis Hamilton’s Max Verstappen prophecy comes true

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Hamilton’s prediction came during the British GP weekend when he revealed how he deciphers Verstappen’s radio comms. During a press conference, he jokingly said, “He is only serious when he puts the F-word in front of it!” Lo and behold, it came true just a few race weekends later!

After having a serious moment in the interchangeable wet conditions, Verstappen had a short yet profanity-laced radio exchange with the team. Even though he then went on to grab pole, he confirmed Hamilton’s hypothesis with a post-Quali admission.

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He was quoted by Nextgen Auto as saying, “Yes, it was a tricky qualifying. We started on the intermediates, we had to do laps and avoid problems, but in the end we were able to take the slicks. At times there was only one dry line and we had to take risks, but it was fun.” [translated via Google]

While Hamilton would be happy at getting some off-track brownie points, his performance on track left him speechless.

Somber mood in the Mercedes garage after Q2 exit for Lewis Hamilton

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Normally, when a driver gets eliminated during Qualifying they went their frustrations over on the team radio comms. However, as Lewis Hamilton scrapped by the sessions to secure a lowly 13th on the grid for tomorrow, he was uncannily quiet.

During his cool-down lap and in-lap, the Brit didn’t utter a word of frustration or anger. He did mention overheated tires and a need to improve but his voice had neither urgency nor surprise.

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Is this a case of major disappointment or an honest self-appraisal of the bitter truth of the moment?

WATCH THIS STORY | Clouded Future: $54M Deal in Doubt as Hurdle Hits Hamiltons Mercedes Contract

Written by:

Anirban Aly Mandal

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Anirban Aly Mandal is a senior F1 writer at EssentiallySports, with over 500 articles published on the platform. Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 while playing on his computer, and he has since then dived deep into the world of motorsports. Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports.
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Edited by:

Aishwary Gaonkar