Lewis Hamilton reacts to Max Verstappen’s dominance in the best possible way

Lewis Hamilton broke out an Austin Powers reference when asked to comment on Max Verstappen’s stranglehold on Formula 1.

Hamilton knows very well how it feels to be that unstoppable force in the world of Formula 1, but with he and his Mercedes team having now been absent from the title fight over the two most recent seasons, it has cleared the way for the era of Verstappen to take hold.

From P6 on the Belgian GP grid, having dropped five places for taking a new gearbox, Verstappen went on to win with a buffer north of 22 seconds over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, his eighth win in a row and 10th of the F1 2023 campaign.

Lewis Hamilton says Max Verstappen “having a smoke and a pancake”

Red Bull are now on a record-breaking run of 13 grand prix wins on the trot, while they are also unbeaten in the F1 2023 sprint races as Verstappen and his team march towards another comfortable title double, one which will crown Max Verstappen a three-time World Champion.

And Hamilton broke out a line from the 2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember film in reference to this Verstappen dominance.

Asked by media including PlanetF1.com whether it is too easy out front for Verstappen, Hamilton replied: “What do you want me to say? I haven’t spoken to him.

“He is having a smoke and a pancake. You know the film?”

PlanetF1.com建议

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For Hamilton a P2 finish in Australia and Spain is as good as the season has got so far, Mercedes in a group alongside McLaren, Aston Martin and Ferrari battling to be recognised as ‘best of the rest’ behind Verstappen and Red Bull.

An upgrade package introduced for the W14 in Monaco, which most notably featuring the axing of Mercedes’ ‘zero pod’ concept, paved the way for a strong performance gain, while further upgrades were introduced at Spa, though Hamilton would complain that the dreaded ‘porpoising’ had returned, an issue which blighted Mercedes in the early stages of last season.

And Hamilton, who has his sights set on returning to the title picture in 2024, does believe his team has been taking “big steps” forward.

“We’ve been making big steps,” he said. “I think our biggest step we took was when we got to Monaco and the car has really progressed.

“Better understanding of where to position your car, it’s been a lot more consistent, more podiums or top-five finishes and generally getting solid reliability.

“So there’s lots and lots of good bits, but the car balance we’ve still got to work on and we need more downforce as we always do.”

Mercedes hold P2 in theConstructors’ Championship但是是一个mammoth 256 points behind Red Bull as Formula 1 enters its summer break.

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