Formula 1 has seen two periods of domination in the past decade. It started with Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in the turbo-hybrid era from 2014 to 2021—with Mercedes winning all eight Constrictors’ Championships and Hamilton winning six Drivers’ titles, just missing out on his seventh in 2021. But Max Verstappen‘s title in 2021 marked the beginning of the Red Bull domination we’re currently witnessing. Not much separates the two eras, but former Ferrari General Manager Peter Windsor has been at the center of dominating periods and gave his two cents on why Verstappen pips Hamilton’s era.

Ever since Hamilton joined F1 in 2007, he’s regularly had a car capable of competing for wins and championships, both at McLaren and Mercedes. Because of this, he’d barely competed in the midfield before 2022. And all of a sudden, when Red Bull nailed the regulation changes and Mercedes didn’t, Hamilton has been stuck in the midfield for two seasons now. Even so, he’s doing a pretty good job. In a YouTube live stream after the British GP, Peter Windsor said, “I’ve always said I felt astonished at how good a job he’s doing, bearing in mind how much road dust he’s got on him going back to 2007. So if anybody was going to find it a tough ask, it was going to be Lewis. But I think he’s actually handled it incredibly well.”

Despite praising Hamilton for his performances in the past couple of years, Windsor believes Verstappen is doing a better job in one area. “Max is in this incredible situation where he’s got such a good team around him, a good car, people that he loves, they love him. Everything’s harmonious. No teammate to worry about.” Hamilton had his fair share of teammate troubles during his time at the top. While discussing this, Windsor said, “He’s had ups and downs. Alonso at McLaren and then Nico [Rosberg], and he wanted to keep Valtteri [Bottas].” 

One of the main reasons Hamilton didn’t want Valtteri Bottas to leave Mercedes was that he never really challenged him. But after Bottas left and George Russell came to the Brackley team, Hamilton has been finding it hard to keep up with the young Brit more often than he’d like. But that has never been the case with Verstappen, even when he wasn’t at the front. No matter who’s been in that second Red Bull seat, he’s found a way to outperform them, and that’s why Windsor believes Max Verstappen is on another level, setting a new standard.

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As dominant as this Verstappen-Red Bull period is, it’s not the first time Red Bull has led the pack. The Milton-Keynes team did it with Sebastian Vettel as well, who, like Windsor, appreciated Verstappen’s era.

Sebastian Vettel praises Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s supremacy

During his time at Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel won four consecutive world championships from 2010 to 2013. So he’s no stranger to a dominant era. But he believes a lot differentiates his era from Verstappen’s. In an interview at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, he talked about Verstappen’s performance this season, saying, “Max deserves all the credit because he is simply doing an excellent job. He is a great talent, and he hardly makes mistakes.”

While comparing the two ears of Red Bull domination, he said, “The perfection, consistency, and quality the team delivers week in and week out is exceptional. So far, they have won every race this season, which I couldn’t do in my dominant period.” The Milton-Keynes team has won all 10 races so far, and with new upgrades coming in Hungary, it doesn’t look like it will slow down anytime soon.

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Who do you think has/had the best dominant era? Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, or Sebastian Vettel?

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