Excited Lewis Hamilton Warned of Getting in Over His Head as Max Verstappen Threat Looms Large

Formula 1 fans have been buzzing ever since Lewis Hamilton grabbed his first pole position of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 22. Most of them seem to be excited as these are the first signs this year when Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s domination actually seems under threat. While Hamilton himself seems excited about the same, an F1 expert has yet warned him about the Dutchman’s threat.

With Verstappen starting right behind Hamilton for the race, the 25-year-old will try everything in his potential to continue Red Bull’s domination this season. Moreover, with Red Bull also having had a fantastic race car this season, it will undoubtedly be a huge challenge for Hamilton to stay ahead during the race.

However, if there is anyone that can stop Verstappen’s domination this year, then Hamilton is undoubtedly one of them. The Briton himself stated in his post-qualifying interview about how he wants to use his success during the Hungarian GP qualifying session to ensure that he is able to challenge for the front row more often now.

First pole in the Mission 44 helmet 💜 pic.twitter.com/JtPrfnyeBQ

— Mission 44 (@mission44) July 22, 2023

As quoted by Sky Sports F1, Hamilton stated that while it has taken them longer than expected to challenge for pole position, he is extremely happy for the team. However, he did admit that they still need to do a lot of work if they are to challenge for the front row on a consistent basis.

And considering that success has not come easy this season for Hamilton, Peter Windsor also has warned him not to take anything for granted. The 71-year-old explained during his post-qualifying analysis about how Verstappen could have easily been faster during qualifying, had he not made any mistakes.

Peter Windsor believes Lewis Hamilton was lucky to beat Max Verstappen

While speaking during his post-qualifying analysis, Peter Windsor began by praising Pirelli for how their choices of tires for qualifying this weekend has helped them stack up the grid better. He then went out to point out what went wrong for Max Verstappen in comparison to Lewis Hamilton.

“He (Verstappen) was quickest in the first run but only by a tenth over Lewis. Going into the last run with a second set of soft tires, he only went quicker in sector two. Just found a couple of tenths in sector two, whereas Lewis went quicker in sector one and sector three. And it was just enough to give him pole,” explained Windsor.

After stating the same, Windsor explained how Verstappen would have been on pole by three tenths, had he not made a mistake in his two runs. This is because according to Windsor, the Dutchman’s three sectors over his two laps was quicker than Hamilton’s three sectors across his two laps. And this is exactly why Hamilton cannot afford to take anything easy during the main race.

Horner not concerned with Verstappen starting behind Hamilton despite their history

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen seem to have quite the history between them following their nail-biting 2021 title clash that ended in massive controversy. While the season finale in Abu Dhabi was highly contentious, the two also had some nasty moments on the race track with each other on multiple occasions.

However, despite the same, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is not too worried even though Verstappen is starting behind his arch-rival on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The only thing that the 49-year-old said that he is worried about is the start.

In a conversation with Sky Sports F1 (as quoted by yahoo.com), he explained, “It’s going to come down to the start. We know there’s a bit of history between those two, so as long as they make it through the first couple of turns then they will have a good motor race“.

And once both Hamilton and Verstappen are able to get away cleanly, Horner believes that his team has got a good strategy to beat the Mercedes driver. Hence, considering the British team principal’s remarks, it seems that it is fair to say that the Hungarian Grand Prix promises to be a thriller.