LEWIS HAMILTON has taken a cheeky dig at F1 rivals Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
That’s after claiming that Verstappen would not be dominating F1 this season if he was driving Perez’s Red Bull.
Verstappen,25, is on course to break his own record of 15 wins in a single season.
He now has 10 wins from 12 races in the 2023 campaign- and 45 in his F1 career.
The Dutch champion boasts a huge 125-point lead over his team-mate Perez – with Fernando Alonso a further 40 points adrift.
But Hamilton reckons that if he were Verstappen’s team-mate then the Dutchman wouldn’t be enjoying such an easy ride.
Speaking after the Belgian GP, the seven-time world champion said: “Do I want to be as fast as Max? Of course! Would I like to have a car that’s as fast as him? Of course!
“If I was in Sergio’s car, Max would not be having the same [good] time he’s having now.”
Verstappen finished 22 seconds ahead of second-placed Perez in Belgium.
To add to his frustrations, Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for bashing into Perez during the sprint race.
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The Mercedes driver’s suggestion is certainly justifiable considering his breath-taking title rivalry with Verstappen in 2021.
With near-equal cars, the duo portrayed one of the greatest rivalries in the history of Formula 1, as Verstappen emerged controversially victorious at Abu Dhabi.
In a recent interview, the Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko suggested that Hamilton is one of the two F1 drivers who could get near Verstappen.
Marko declared: “For Checo, a second place is like a victory at the moment.
“Max is hardly beatable. I think maybe only Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso could be slightly closer to him”.
But the current situation clearly plagues the British legend, as Mercedes are unable to keep pace with Red Bull.
The Briton is out of contract at the end of the season, but is set to sign a new £100million deal.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
