Lewis Hamilton has congratulated his former title rival Max Verstappen on his fourth world championship. The British driver spoke highly of the Dutch racer after the Grand Prix in Las Vegas. During the race, Hamilton even managed to overtake Verstappen on the track, as the W15 proved to be too much for the RB20 in Vegas. Nevertheless, Hamilton sees Verstappen as the favourite for the title again in 2025.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen briefly encountered each other on the Las Vegas track. However, the Dutchman gave the Brit’s superior vehicle plenty of room to overtake him. For Verstappen, the overtaking manoeuvre by his former title rival didn’t matter, as he still secured his fourth world championship.
“He did a fantastic job,” Hamilton said after the race at the FIA press conference. The Brit battled with the Dutchman for the title in 2021, but now he takes his hat off to Verstappen. “He made no mistakes, delivered every time, and took every point he was supposed to. He and his team simply did the best job, again, for the fourth year in a row, although it did get really exciting at one point.”
Although the new regulations for Formula 1 will only come into effect in 2026, there are already many changes on the agenda for the premier class next season. After more than a decade of loyal service at Mercedes, Hamilton himself is switching to Ferrari, and there are no less than four debutants on the grid. According to Hamilton, however, one thing will not change: Verstappen is once again the favourite for the world title.
Is Verstappen Unbeatable?
“I think they will be hard to beat next year because they probably started on the car for next season earlier than everyone else,” Hamilton explains. Does this mean that Verstappen himself will be unbeatable in 2025? “It depends on whether they have a lead of one and a half seconds per lap at the first race, as was the case this year,” replies the seven-time world champion.
