During a press conference leading up to the GP of São Paulo, Lewis Hamilton was grilled about the current title fight. After all, Hamilton knows better than anyone what it’s like to compete against Max Verstappen. The former champion, from his less competitive Mercedes, claims to have seen little of the recent incidents, but trusts that both drivers are capable of deciding the championship in a fair manner.
“I would have loved to be fighting for the title,” Hamilton began. “But we realized early in the season that it was going to be a tough year. We have been competitive at times, but it doesn’t make much sense to look at the other teams now. At the start, I can see them fighting for the first place, but then they disappear into the distance.
The seven-time world champion admitted that the season becomes much more exciting now that so many drivers and teams are vying for the title. “In recent years, it wasn’t that interesting – Max Verstappen was always the one to win,” he said. The Englishman is pleased to see that Norris has also emerged as a title contender this year. “Norris can certainly still win,” he added. “We all know how strong Verstappen is; he has hardly any weaknesses. But on the other hand, Lando Norris is doing great, he’s really leading McLaren.”
‘Verstappen and Norris know what they’re doing’
Hamilton is not bothered by the fact that both title candidates were involved in a few controversial duels in recent races. “I haven’t really followed it, but I assume both drivers know what they’re doing. It promises to be a beautiful season finale. Hopefully, I will have a good place to follow everything.” Hamilton was once again asked about Verstappen’s driving style and whether the so-called divebombs have become the norm in Formula 1.
“That happened in 2021 when Max (Verstappen) and I were fighting for the title,” Hamilton explained. “The fact that the current circuits have so much run-off just doesn’t help. Hopefully, that will change next year. In the past, you ended up in the grass or gravel if you went over the limit, but the new generation of drivers is just getting used to having a lot of extra asphalt. It would be nice if they brought back the old-school approach.” One brave journalist dared to ask Hamilton again about Max’s driving style, but the Englishman easily parried the question. “Just listen to my on-board radios from 2021,” he concluded with a smile.
