Back in 2018, when Mercedes was at their peak, and Red Bull was playing catch-up, Max Verstappen had a very intense rivalry with his teammate Daniel Ricciardo. 5 years after this rivalry, with the Dutchman setting high standards in F1 today, Lewis Hamilton feels that the former never had teammates as tough as his, as reported by RaceXpress,
Verstappen made his debut with Red Bull back in 2016 and since then, has had five different teammates. This includes Daniil Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and his current teammate Sergio Perez. However, apart from Ricciardo, none of them have been able to perform at Verstappen’s level.
As for Hamilton, he made his entry into F1 back in 2007 and has had various world champions as his teammate. The list includes the likes of Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, and Nico Rosberg, all of whom have won the championship once or twice. Therefore, Hamilton believes that Verstappen has never had to experience a tough teammate challenging him.
Lewis Hamilton looks down on Verstappen but praises Red Bull
Leading up to the Italian GP, Hamilton spoke to Sky Sports F1 and said, “In my opinion, all my teammates have been stronger than the teammates Max has had: Jenson, Fernando, George, Valtteri, Nico. I’ve had so many. They’ve all been very, very strong, very consistent. And Max hasn’t beaten anyone of the caliber of my teammates.”
Hamilton further revealed that Verstappen’s dominance does not make him any more impressed than the dominant performances of past F1 drivers. He gave the example of Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and even Kimi Raikkonen.
He then went on to praise Red Bull for their impeccable performances. The seven time world champion claimed that the Red Bull team, as a whole, are one of the strongest teams to have been in F1. “The car is incredible, the drivers are doing great, they are very consistent, the pit crew is doing great, the mechanics are doing well, the strategy is good,” explained Hamilton.
History of Verstappen’s teammates at Red Bull
Even though Hamilton’s statement might come across as harsh, no teammate of Verstappen, apart from Ricciardo, has been able to match him. The Dutchman has always been miles ahead of his counterpart even in equal cars.
The difference was so huge at times that even a skilled driver like Pierre Gasly was replaced midway through the season. His replacement, Alex Albon, also failed to come anywhere close to Verstappen.
The parity between teammates in Red Bull is more than clear this season with Perez not being able to put in good performances as consistently as Verstappen. The reigning World champion is currently leading the standings with 339 points while his teammate Sergio Perez is second with only 201 points.
