Hamilton’s bold claim about Verstappen: ‘If I was in Perez’s car…’

For the second season in a row, Hamilton has been powerless to prevent Verstappen’s charge towards another world title, with the Dutchman taking 10 wins from 12 races this year to open up a seemingly unassailable 125-point championship lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. 

Hamilton has not had the car to challenge Verstappen’s dominant RB19 amid Mercedes’ ongoing competitive struggles in 2023. The seven-time world champion had to settle with a low-key run to fourth at the Belgian Grand Prix, while his former title rival fought back from a grid penalty to claim his eighth win in a row. 

But Hamilton is confident Verstappen would not be having things all his own way if he found himself in equal machinery. 

“Do I want to be as fast as them? Of course. Would I like to have a car that’s as fast as them? Of course,” Hamilton told TV crews including Canal+ after Sunday’s race in Belgium. 

“If I was in Sergio’s car… Max would not be having the same time he’s having now.” 

Hamilton came agonisingly close to beating Verstappen during their titanic 2021 title battle which went down to the wire after a fierce season-long duel, before losing the championship in controversial circumstances at the Abu Dhabi finale. 

Even Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has admitted that Hamilton is one of only two drivers on the current grid who is capable of beating Verstappen. 

“I would perhaps say [Fernando] Alonso or Hamilton,” Marko told DAZN. "But in the same car it would be very difficult.

“Second place behind Max is like a victory. He had a good qualy, a good Sprint race, and had a controlled race with good speed.

“Max Verstappen wins easily no matter what. The whole team, every stop works, no mistakes are made, the whole team is fast and they are doing an incredible job.”