[Artemis]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

I'm not, but if you think Hamilton is overrated, the only drivers who Verstappen beat are Vettel, Alonso and Raikkonen.

Not overrating Hamilton. He's indisputably part of the pantheon of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. And he still may have an ace up his sleeve when donning the Maranello Prancing Horse race suit.

Several hours after the dust had settled in the Abu Dhabi desert back in December 2021, I commented in this sense:

Originally Posted by Artemis

Verstappen's claim to fame for the future: "Earlier in my career I have raced against the F1 legend Sir Lewis Hamilton, who - as you know - retired years ago from F1. And I beat him."

And also later, such as for example this comment (2023):

Originally Posted by Artemis

All the bickering is to no avail. The past is the past, this is now.

We got the benefit that in a decade or so, we can all say that we have witnessed the rivalry on tracks between Hamilton and Verstappen.

Some food for thought. Hamilton has indisputably a monumental race career featuring countless trophies, titles and records. One of the greatest F1 drivers ever. However, despite all that greatness, excellence and vast experience, there happens to be a dude 12 years his junior who keeps stopping him in his tracks to win even 1 single race or Sprint ever since passing the chequered flag during the 2021 Saudi Arabia F1 race (Dec 5, 2021). It's that same rascal, time and time again.

Now, to be capable to stop a force of nature, Hamilton the man himself, takes either extreme luck or super talent, or both.

Hamilton is ultra in F1. But ever since the 2021 Abu Dhabi F1 race (Dec 12, 2021), Verstappen consistently shows being nec plus ultra in F1. And that could be Verstappen's real claim to fame in the future, regardless of all trophies, titles and records that he will have collected by then: "I raced against Hamilton - The Man, The Legend - and ended his P1 era".

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Not overrating Hamilton. He's indisputably part of the pantheon of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. And he still may have an ace up his sleeve when donning the Maranello Prancing Horse race suit.

Several hours after the dust had settled in the Abu Dhabi desert back in December 2021, I commented in this sense:


And also later, such as for example this comment (2023):

You are not other Verstappen fans. They think by downplaying Hamilton, it makes Max look better. But that's clearly not the case, it makes him look worse. He certainly can't overcome Lando when the cars were more or less even. It appears currently that Max can only win when he literally the fastest car (compared to it's peers) and With rules that have been unfairly applied and a very weak teammate.

So much adversity to overcome.

In truth, Max is a very fast driver. It's also true that the moment he's lost the car advantage, he's been worse than Hamilton who is supposedly washed, AND has had as a slower car (3rd-4th fastest on any given weekend) So if we are being honest, we can't really take these analysis of Max's perceived talent gap to everyone else seriously. I imagine, if things stay on this trajectory, we'll be calling him Mid Tier Max and holding out hope (ala Danny V) that he comes back to form.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

You are not other Verstappen fans. They think by downplaying Hamilton, it makes Max look better. But that's clearly not the case, it makes him look worse. He certainly can't overcome Lando when the cars were more or less even. It appears currently that Max can only win when he literally the fastest car (compared to it's peers) and With rules that have been unfairly applied and a very weak teammate.

So much adversity to overcome.

In truth, Max is a very fast driver. It's also true that the moment he's lost the car advantage, he's been worse than Hamilton who is supposedly washed, AND has had as a slower car (3rd-4th fastest on any given weekend) So if we are being honest, we can't really take these analysis of Max's perceived talent gap to everyone else seriously. I imagine, if things stay on this trajectory, we'll be calling him Mid Tier Max and holding out hope (ala Danny V) that he comes back to form.

Both Hamilton and Verstappen are 'hors catégorie' within the F1 ecosystem. For sure, all those who work(ed) closely with them, can confirm. Both are an ace in their sport, hands down.

Feel free to hear Newey's take about what makes Hamilton, Alonso and Verstappen set apart from most other F1 drivers:
Section 1:08:36 to 1:14:29