At the 2023 United States GP weekend in Austin, Lewis Hamilton insisted that he was the only driver who could dethrone Max Verstappen. This comment came on the back of two underwhelming seasons for Mercedes and Hamilton, when he failed to mount up a Title challenge.
Hamilton lost to Verstappen in 2021 under heartbreaking circumstances and since then, he had been itching to get a shot at the Championship again. Unfortunately, Mercedes’ struggles held him back.
But Hamilton never stopped believing. Despite 2023 being Red Bull’s most dominant year in history, Hamilton was sure that given the right car, he would be fighting Verstappen at the front.
“I believe I’m one of the only drivers that can do so,” he said. “And so, but we’ve got to have the package, not only the car, but we’ve got to be operating better in our pit stops. We’ve got so many areas we need to be leveling up to be able to match the champions.”
“I want to be fighting Max [Verstappen], I believe I’m one of the only drivers that can do so.” https://t.co/LANRyhqJpX pic.twitter.com/W83cxuFOWD
— Deni (@fiagirly) October 20, 2023
Mercedes struggled immensely in 2022 and 2023, winning just one race in those two years. Hamilton, in particular, was frustrated and kept urging his team to be sharp with its upgrades.
Their hard work is finally paying off in 2024, with the Silver Arrows enjoying a return to the top. Mercedes has three wins so far this year, two of which came thanks to Hamilton, whereas Red Bull and Verstappen are faltering.
Mercedes isn’t the only team giving Red Bull a hard time, however. McLaren with its upgrades, has taken the ‘fastest team’ tag away from the Milton-Keynes-based squad.
Hamilton has to leave Mercedes’ resurgence behind
Hamilton will join Ferrari from 2025 onwards and he made the decision months before Mercedes started winning races.
The Stevenage-born driver wanted to compete at the front, which is where Ferrari was then. So, he presumably saw better chances of putting up a Championship challenge at the Maranello-based outfit. However, things have changed since.
Mercedes is now fighting for wins, whereas Ferrari is struggling to break into the podium places. Hamilton insists that he doesn’t regret choosing the Italian team, but he would be hoping for a turnaround, once he does don their colors.
