Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Team-mates have not tested Hamilton – Max
MAX Verstappen thinks Lewis Hamilton’s dominance of Formula One has been helped by team-mates who have failed to test him.
Despite Hamilton’s mixed form – he heads into tomorrow’s Russian Grand Prix with only two victories from his last seven races and finished a distant fourth in practice here – the British driver remains on course to cruise to his sixth world championship.
Hamilton, 34, has been partnered with the likes of Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg – the trio holding four titles between them – during his career.
But following Rosberg’s departure from the sport – days after beating Hamilton to the 2016 title – the mildmannered Valtteri Bottas was signed as Hamilton’s new team-mate.
Bottas has won five times in that period for Mercedes. In contrast, Hamilton has triumphed on 28 occasions, and barring a complete disaster, a third straight title will follow this year, too. Bottas was also ordered to slow down at the last round in Singapore to protect his team-mate’s position, while at this race here last year, the Finn was ushered out of Hamilton’s way to allow the Briton to win.
“Over the years, Lewis hasn’t had the strongest team-mates,” Dutchman Verstappen told the PA news agency. “If you have the right car you can beat everyone.
“Lewis is an amazing driver, and one of the best to have raced in Formula One. But he has also had the best car, and when you have the dominant car, the only one you are really fighting is your team-mate.”
Hamilton has said he would welcome Verstappen joining him at Mercedes, and team boss Toto Wolff is a keen admirer of Red Bull man, who turns 22 on Monday.
But the Mercedes team principal, still scarred by Hamilton’s toxic rivalry with Rosberg, has already moved to re-sign Bottas for at least another year.
Verstappen is tied in the title race with another of the sport’s rising stars, Charles Leclerc, and the pair are the closest non-Mercedes challengers to Hamilton.
But they are a full 96 points off the championship summit with a possible 156 still remaining.
Verstappen was fastest in second practice yesterday, but will serve a five-place grid penalty following changes to his engine. Thundery showers are forecast for qualifying today, and Hamilton said: “I hope it rains, otherwise it is going to be a tough day.”