Hamilton’s stunning Verstappen jibe: “My teammates stronger than any of his”
The seven-time world champion says the likes of Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas and George Russell have provided a sterner test than Verstappen has faced during his time at Red Bull.
Verstappen is dominating current teammate Sergio Perez and also comfortably beat the likes of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, with Daniel Ricciardo being the Dutchman’s closest match since he joined Red Bull in 2016.
Speaking in an interview with Sky Italy ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton said he has been “no more impressed” with Verstappen’s achievements than previous world champions.
“I’m no more impressed than I have [been] when Michael [Schumacher] was leading, when Sebastian [Vettel] was leading, when Kimi [Raikkonen] was driving, when Fernando [Alonso] was winning,” Hamilton told Sky.
“I think the team as a whole, is one of the strongest, they are firing on all cylinders right now. The car is incredible. The driver is doing an amazing job, very consistent. The pit crew are doing a great job, strategy’s doing a good job and on point. You can’t fault them."
Hamilton claimed Verstappen's success has been blown up much more than his own period of domination.
“It’s actually interesting because I was running this morning and I was thinking about this,” Hamilton added.
“The narrative, that goes through the media… you know when I qualified half a second, six tenths ahead of Valtteri, they didn’t say the same thing as they say today when Max qualifies six tenths ahead of Perez - it’s blown up much more.
“In my personal opinion, Valtteri [Bottas], and all of my teammates, have been stronger than the teammates that Max has had.
“Jenson [Button], Fernando, George [Russell], Valtteri, Nico [Rosberg]. I’ve had so many. These guys have all been very, very strong, very consistent and Max has not raced against anyone like that.”
Hamilton hopes to renew his rivalry with Verstappen after signing a new two-year deal with Mercedes, having explained that his decision to stay was motivated by having “unfinished business” in F1.
