Max Verstappen is certain about Lewis Hamilton fighting for F1 title, but he reckons there will be others too in it.
Having had quite the fight against Mercedes’ Hamilton in 2021, Red Bull’s Verstappen almost had another with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in 2022 but for the Italian outfit to steam off allowing for an easy ride to his second F1 championship.
But that is in the past now, the 2023 F1 season presents a new chance to Verstappen and the other competitors to fight again. The Dutchman expects Hamilton to be there if he has the car, but he expects the same for George Russell and Charles Leclerc.
He even included Lando Norris in the list but that is when he can get the car to be in that position. ”Lewis has been one of the greatest drivers ever in the sport, so for sure if he has the car to do it, he can fight for the title again,” said Verstappen to Sky Sports F1.
“But, that’s the same for George, and the same for Charles, it’s the same for Lando. If you give them a car which is capable of winning a championship, they can. But it’s also about when you have the car, the pressure comes. You cannot afford mistakes or at least you cannot afford big mistakes, but that’s the level of the different pressure you have.
”But I’m confident that once these guys, they get into a role like that, it is all possible. They have the talent to do so.”, summed up Verstappen, who himself will be in the mix to go for his third world championship joining the likes of Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Aryton Senna, having at least won three titles.
“Well, my favourite number is of course number three,” started Verstappen. “Of course, you always try to go for it, but I don’t know if we are going to be good enough. Of course as a team we believe we are, we are very motivated, we come off the back of a very strong year and we are working flat out to try and achieve that.
“Everyone back at the factory, the whole winter was working flat out and once I came back from my holiday, I was also working flat out to try and be in the best shape possible and once you get back into the car, you know that its go time and you have to deliver,” summed up Verstappen.
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