There are always 2 different battles that take place between rival athletes. Sticking to Formula 1, one is the actual battle on the track where racers fight to see the chequered flag first. The other is their battle for popularity among fans of the sport. Right now, as heavily as the former battle is being won by Max Verstappen is the same intensity with which Lewis Hamilton has grasped the latter – with a mega 95% majority.

Again, talking about the first battle – apart from the race results, there are official polls to decide who the ‘driver of the day’ is. That is one poll that is based entirely on meritorious achievement. But apart from social media following, there has been no official marker for popularity. Or is there? Former British racer and now presenter, Martin Brundle worked even in the summer break to give us a nice poll that gave the final resolution of the popularity debate.

Brundle wrote on Twitter, now X, “So I’ve been out and about in the summer break. Met many and all kinds of F1 fans who want to engage which is really great. Always thank them for their passion about our sport and ask them who they support.”

“95% have said Lewis [Hamilton], so there you have it. Just a Marty poll but fact.” It’s almost like Shaq referring to Hamilton when he was asked about his level of F1 fandom a few years back at COTA!

The 7-time champion has completely crushed Verstappen, giving him an embarrassing statistic to be a part of. Even on the racing side of things, an F1 expert has predicted a better finish for Hamilton in the drivers’ championship.

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In the championship race, Max Verstappen has a 99.99% chance of taking the trophy back home for the 3rd year in a row. The exciting battle is between Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, and Lewis Hamilton for P2. According to BBC and Sky Sports presenter, Natalie Pinkham, the Briton will edge the Spaniard and the Mexican for P2 in the WDC.

“I’m going to say that Lewis Hamilton will finish runner-up because I fear Aston Martin’s decent run of form is over,” said Pinkham on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. Guess it’s finally all looking up for the Mercedes driver.

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Bottom line – the future is expected to get better for Hamilton. He is the people’s champ and seemingly en route to dethrone the 2nd Red Bull driver in the world championship.

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