30 November 2023 , 17:41
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Lewis Hamilton suspects Max Verstappen was so dominant this year only because he had it far too easy "chilling at the front".
The Dutchman had the quickest car on the grid by miles this year, meaning only Sergio Perez was equipped to take the fight to his team-mate. And, despite a strong start to the season, he quickly proved himself incapable of doing that.
Seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton and the rest of the grid had to watch as Verstappen romped to wins and smashed records. After going through his rival's data, the Brit feels the Red Bull racer was never truly tested.
"You can go through the lap times and some of the data from Max," he told the BBC. "He is just chilling at the front more often than not. I don't think he has broken a sweat during the year.
"Even when we were chasing him in Austin [Hamilton finished a close second behind Verstappen before he was later disqualified], I don't think he was sweating. I think he was just able to control it.
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"And when you are in that position where you have performance and can back off, the car goes further. The tyres go longer and you are in a sweet spot and it is amazing to be in that place. Ultimately, they have done an amazing job and worked and deserve it."
Though many of his single-season records have now fallen to Verstappen, Hamilton still has more to show from his career. The Dutchman has some way to go to match the Mercedes star's seven world titles and 103 race wins but, still aged just 26, time remains on his side.
Former Sky Sports F1 pundit Johnny Herbert thinks Verstappen will be able to surpass his rival's achievements, but warned that Red Bull's dominance will not last forever. "The only way that that's going to happen for Max is, it's very obvious, but it's the ability of Red Bull to be able to achieve what Mercedes achieved in that dominant time with the championships that they won with Nico [Rosberg] and Lewis," he said.
"Can they carry that on? I think there's a good strong chance they can. Is there time on his side before the rules change obviously in 2026? They're in a very good, strong position but I think we're getting to that point again where I think there is always a certain level that you can get to and you might edge it slightly better year by year or during a season but then everybody else starts to catch up.
"And then your domination time, your win rate as it has been at the moment, has been reduced. And then those chances of winning championships reduce at the same time."