Max Verstappen’s supremacy has been so overwhelming this season that the prevailing feeling is that he has clinched his third Formula 1 championship, even though there are 10 races to go. However, Lewis Hamilton says this would not happen if he had Sergio Perez’s car.
Verstappen has won 10 of the 12 races that have been staged, as well as a couple of sprints -the rest were won by ‘Checo’ Perez- and has a 125-point lead over the Mexican in the championship.
While Hamilton, accustomed to victories, has not won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP, the year in which he lost the championship to Verstappen after a close season.
This 2023, the F1 champion has settled for four podiums (two-second places and two third places), in addition to snatching pole position from Verstappen at the Hungarian GP.
This is what Hamilton said about ‘Checo’ Perez’s car
The Briton is another driver -like Nico Rosberg and Jaime Alguersuari- who claims that Sergio Perez does not take advantage of his car’s full potential -although the Spaniard has replied that ’90 percent would sink’ with Verstappen.
Although there are people – such as Arturo Elías Ayub – who suspect that Verstappen’s car is not equal to ‘Checo’ Pérez’s, Hamilton admits that he would like to have the Mexican’s RB19 and would challenge the Dutchman more than he would.
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- Christian Horner validates the Verstappen-Perez pair for 2024, while Daniel Ricciardo is considered for 2025
“If I’d like to be as fast as him [Verstappen] – of course! If I’d like to have a car as fast as his – of course!” he told Motorsport. “If I was in Sergio [Perez]’s car, Max wouldn’t be having the same good time he’s having now.”
This is not the first time the seven-time F1 champion envied Red Bull Racing’s car, as earlier in the season, when Verstappen came from 15th to second in the Arabian GP, Hamilton said, “The RB19 is the fastest car I’ve ever seen.”
“I think when we [Mercedes] were fast, we weren’t that fast. I think it’s the fastest car I’ve ever seen, especially compared to the rest,” the Briton told reporters. “I don’t know how or why, but [Verstappen] passed me quickly. I didn’t even bother to cover him because the speed difference was huge.”
However, Spaniard Fernando Alonso reminded Hamilton that the Mercedes that dominated F1 between 2014 and 2020 was perhaps superior in dominance to the current RB19.
“I totally disagree. I finished 20 seconds behind ‘Checo’ and Max. He and Rosberg were a minute behind the rest in 2014 and 2015. And on top of that, they were protecting the engine and lowering performance. He has a short memory. He is getting old,” Alonso said.