Hamilton vs Verstappen: Villadelprat’s opinion
Even before the start of Red Bull’s dominance in 2022, consolidated this year with Max Verstappenthe last driver who had been able to keep the world championship fight with the Dutchman alive until the end had been Lewis Hamilton, in this case in 2021. The battle was resolved in favor of the three-time world champion in Abu Dhabi, in a finish that had sparked much controversy. From then on, however, Verstappen took off, collecting trophy after trophy and record after record, all while Mercedes never repeated itself with the same potential as in the past. However, a curiosity remains: they could be considered Verstappen and Hamilton at the same level? Opinions are naturally different, and also include those of those who believe that Red Bull’s #1 is at the absolute top, above anyone else. Thinking like this, in an interview given to planetf1.comAnd Joan Villadelprat, former Team Manager of world champion Benetton in the mid-90s with Michael Schumacher.
Two different levels
In addition to believing that Verstappen is capable of winning even with a car with different characteristics from his current Red Bull, the thought was very clear: “No – has explained – Lewis is making mistakes. The key thing is that we don’t know how good Red Bull is. Mercedes can be comparedbecause Russell is good and is up there with Hamilton, but you can’t do the same with Red Bull. Perez is a second behind Max and he’s not a bad driver, he’s very fast! Maybe the way Red Bull developed the car, maybe the way Max asks for things, maybe what is done to the car to make Max faster is completely against what Checo wants.”
Verstappen difficult to defeat
But just in case Verstappen and Hamilton had the same single-seater, Would the Dutchman still be able to beat the Briton? Also regarding this hypothesis, Villadelprat, who in his career has also worked for other teams such as McLaren, Ferrari, Tyrrell and Prost, has no doubts: “I think so – he answered – he has a lot of confidence, and you can see it in his body language, in the way he approaches the weekend and in his first lap. Because Max, in one turn, is there, bam, that’s it. When a world champion gets to this point, it’s very difficult to stop him.”
The differences between teammates
However, the Catalan engineer has great respect for Hamilton, who managed to win all his championships also thanks to a less harsh comparison with his teammates compared to those that Verstappen had: “Hamilton had moments where he was untouchable – he concluded – I love Lewis. He had a great time with Mercedes, lucky enough to be paired with the best engine and package in the paddock, and this helped him win many championships. If you compare Rosberg and Hamilton, I don’t think Nico was anything special. Rosbergand also Bottasthey were sometimes faster than Hamilton in qualifying, but they were not special pilots. Perez not even close to Max, and not badbut I don’t know how much is the car and how much is Max.”
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