F1 Pundit Martin Brundle was not convinced about Lewis Hamilton being in his list of top three Formula 1 drivers in 2022.
Hamilton has had a torrid start to the 2022 season. After his heartbreaking Title loss in 2021, many people expected the Brit to come back with extra motivation to win the Title.
However, as of now he’s nowhere near to challenging for his eighth Championship. It’s partly due to the fact that Mercedes don’t have the strongest car anymore. After eight years of dominance from the Silver Arrows, Ferrari and Red Bull have overtaken them in terms of car performance.
Even within his team, Hamilton has been second best up till now. George Russell, who joined Mercedes in 2022 seems to have settled in to the W13 fairly quickly. His legendary teammate on the other hand, has struggled to get up to speed.
The seven-time World Champion’s last outing was a nightmare, as he finished P13 in Imola. Russell on the other hand, took his car to a well earned fourth place finish.
Also read: “The guy’s a genius”– Pierre Gasly impressed by intellect of Michael Jordan
Plenty of drivers other than Lewis Hamilton who are deserving of a top three rating, says Brundle
The F1 grid is star stacked. There’s no doubt that if they were all in equal machinery, every single race would have been incredibly close. We have old veterans like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, who are struggling in inferior machinery but are still putting in great performances.
On the other hand, the young guns in F1 today are firing on all cylinders. Drivers like Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz are all considered by many to be Champions in waiting.
In a Sky Sports column, Brundle shared his thoughts on who he feels are the top drivers in F1 today. “The top three drivers in F1? That’s tough!” he said.
“I think Max (Verstappen), Charles and then I’m looking at Lewis, George or Lando as being the third. But I rate Carlos Sainz, and Fernando Alonso could be up there too! A top three is really hard as you’ve got to leave out an absolutely world class driver. Can I do top five?!” the 62-year old added.
Hamilton is currently seventh in the F1 standings with 28 points to his name. Russell meanwhile is up in fourth with 49.
