Red Bull have showcased immense domination as they have won all 11 races of the 2023 season so far. Reigning Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen himself has now won seven consecutive races. Consequently of the Milton Keynes outfit’s domination, Joe Pompliano has pointed out that many new fans in the US are already losing interest. However, Lewis Hamilton does not think so. In fact, the Mercedes driver believes that the sport of F1 is currently in one of its most exciting times.
Formula 1 is in a tough spot.
They timed up the hype of Netflix’s F1 show PERFECTLY with a super competitive season in 2021.
But now Red Bull wins every race by 20 seconds & many new fans in the US are already losing interest.
The sport needs to be competitive to keep growing.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 2, 2023
Even though barely any driver was able to match Verstappen at the British GP this past weekend, the action behind him was pretty close. For example, the McLarens and Mercedes had an extremely close fight for the rest of the top five spots.
This wasn’t a failure… it was a sign of things to come! 💪#BritishGP #F1 @OscarPiastri pic.twitter.com/68Krf4OoDw
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 9, 2023
McLaren’s Lando Norris drove a brilliant race to hold onto second place, ahead of Hamilton. And similarly, Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren did extremely well to beat the other Mercedes of George Russell.
Since McLaren, a team that struggled to score points at the start of the season, almost grabbed a double podium at the British GP, Hamilton believes that the regulations to bring the sides closer are working well. The 38-year-old, hence, believes that F1 is more exciting than ever as no one knows which team will fight for the podium spots.
Lewis Hamilton expressed his delight to see McLaren fight for podiums
After grabbing third, Lewis Hamilton explained how delighted he was to see McLaren fight for the podium spots. The 38-year-old explained during his press conference that the most impressive part of the British GP for him was when he was following Lando Norris.
The Mercedes driver revealed how amazed he was to see how quick the McLarens were in the high-speed corners. When asked if McLaren was faster than the Mercedes in this race, Hamilton replied, “Yes, 100%“.
What. A. Battle!! ⚔️#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ulH1s2XP9N
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 9, 2023
However, he admitted that McLaren deserve to be in the position that they are because of all the good work they have done. After making this point, Hamilton added, “This is one of the most exciting times that we have seen in the sport when we have finally begun to see the regs pull people closer“.
Hamilton then pointed out how McLaren has now joined the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin that are fighting for those final podium spots. With this in mind, the Briton then concluded his remarks by stating that he is now excited to see what the rest of the season has in store.
Verstappen agrees with Hamilton’s remarks
During the press conference, Max Verstappen also admitted that he was surprised to see how quick the McLaren were during the race. He then added that he is “positively surprised” and is now looking forward to what will happen at the next race in Hungary.
After revealing his surprise, the Dutchman stated that what is most important to him is that his Red Bull team are still at the top. And that has exactly how the season has been so far.
The only driver that has been able to defeat Verstappen this season has been his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez as on the two occasions that he has failed to win a race this season, he has finished second to the Mexican. And yet Verstappen wants more from his Red Bull team.
This is because he concluded the press conference by stating that he is looking forward to Red Bull bringing new upgrades. When asked what kind of upgrades he is keen to say, the 25-year-old hilariously revealed that he wants the car to be better in all aspects. Verstappen’s statement clearly does not bode well for the other teams, who have struggled to match the Dutchman in any of the races of the 2023 season so far.