Lewis Hamilton on what would happen to Verstappen ‘if I was in Perez’s car’
Lewis Hamilton believes Max Verstappen’s life wouldn’t be quite so easy if he was in the second Red Bull.
The seven-time F1 World Champion has said the easy ride Max Verstappen is having to a third world title wouldn’t be happening if he was in the second Red Bull.
The Dutch driver romped to another dominant victory at last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, having started from sixth place – catching and passing teammate Perez for the lead with only a quarter of the race done.
Lewis Hamilton: No easy life for Max Verstappen with me at Red Bull
With Perez seemingly emerging on the other side of a dramatically poor run of form that started with his qualifying crash in Monaco, his improved showing at Spa still had him some 20 seconds behind Verstappen at the chequered flag.
With Verstappen extending his championship lead over Perez to a gigantic 125 points as the sport enters its mandatory summer shutdown, Hamilton speculated how the title fight would be lived up with someone like him in the other RB19.
“Do I want to be as fast as them? Of course. Would I like to have a car that’s as fast as them? Of course,” Hamilton told media after the Belgian GP.
“If I was in Sergio’s car, Max would not be having the same time he’s having now.”
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Helmut Marko’s thoughts on who could beat Max Verstappen
Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has a slightly different view on the situation, believing even veteran World Champions would struggle to beat Hamilton in the same machinery.
“I would perhaps say [Fernando] Alonso or Hamilton [could beat Max] but, in the same car, it would be very difficult,” he told DAZN.
“Second place behind Max is like a victory. He [Perez] had a good quali, a good sprint race, and a controlled race with good speed.
“Max Verstappen wins easily, no matter what. The whole team, every pitstop works, no mistakes are made, the whole team is fast and they are doing an incredible job.”
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