Lewis Hamilton has advised Max Verstappen to stay on his current path after the Red Bull star secured his third successive World Championship in 2023. The Mercedes ace is still searching for his first win since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and is hoping that he can reignite the pair’s old rivalry when the new season gets underway.
Hamilton and Verstappen shared one of F1 history’s most intense rivalries during the 2021 season with both champions performing at their absolute pinnacle in a legendary battle that went down to the final lap of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Unfortunately for Hamilton, the World Championship swung the way of Verstappen that evening, and it did so in heartbreaking fashion. Since then, the 39-year-old has been unable to claim a single Grand Prix victory as Red Bull kicked off the ground effect era with a sizable advantage over Mercedes in terms of pure performance.
Verstappen duly claimed his second World Championship in the absence of any real challenger, and his advantage over Hamilton only increased when the cars hit the tarmac in Bahrain last season. The Dutchman won 19 out of a possible 22 Grands Prix last year as he broke countless records en route to a sensational title triumph.
Speaking to Formule1.NL, Hamilton was asked what advice he would give to the reigning world champion. The legendary Brit responded: “I would say, keep doing what you’re doing. He’s doing great.”
Hamilton was then asked whether or not he felt that Verstappen, alongside himself and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, made up the three best drivers on the grid. “I think not only us but all drivers in Formula One are hugely driven,” he replied.
“Just for different reasons. Different upbringing, different opportunities, different challenges. But I see a lot of similarities with all these drivers and also with younger drivers from Formula Two and Formula Three, for example.
“I think Max and Fernando have one thing in common with me: all three of us are hugely competitive. We go to extremes to achieve what we want. What else they are like as people, I can’t say much about that. I only know them from the Formula One world, it’s not like I visit them, for example.”
