Lewis Hamilton has also witnessed the rise of Max Verstappen in the World Championship. While the British star has been gaining more control over his Ferrari in recent months, the Dutchman has been stringing together victories. Verstappen now has his sights set on his fifth title again – Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris should seriously fear for their place in the standings. Hamilton urges McLaren to be as ‘ruthless’ as Verstappen.
In just a few months, Max Verstappen has reduced his deficit to World Championship leader Oscar Piastri to forty points. In the run-up to the Mexico City Grand Prix, the Dutchman admitted for the first time that he is focused on a new title fight. He is chasing ‘perfect weekends’, such as the United States Grand Prix in Austin. In Austin, Verstappen secured pole position in both the sprint race and the main race, and he took home the victory twice.
In the run-up to the race weekend in Mexico City, Lewis Hamilton was asked to advise McLaren – after all, the Brit knows better than anyone what it’s like to duel with Verstappen. He emphasized that both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris know how to win a title, but also pointed out the extra pressure of a chasing Verstappen. “They (Piastri and Norris, ed.) have of course already won championships in other categories,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “At such a moment, it’s all extra challenging – the pressure is incredibly high.”
“Now you really have to put on blinkers,” Hamilton continued. “You have to be able to block everything from the outside, because otherwise so much comes in – positive and negative things. Moreover, you really have to be ruthless. Because that’s what Max (Verstappen, ed.) is. He’s going to take this away from them if they’re not careful. This is the moment to push and go to the extreme. Not only to keep a driver like Max at bay, but also to outdo your teammate. Consistency is essential in this – we’ve already seen that in Max’s recent races.”
