F1: Hamilton never absolutely destroy teammates like Verstappen does – Bird

Formula E driver Sam Bird highlighted a significant difference between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, claiming the Briton never ‘destroyed’ his teammates in the same way Verstappen does. In fact, Nico Rosberg beat him for the 2016 title

The Dutchman is on his way to his second successive drivers’ championship win, now nearly a hundred points ahead of championship rivals Sergio Perez and  Charles Leclerc. The 24-year-old has been the dominant driver in his team ever since his debut in 2016.

At the age of 18, he won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix on his debut for Red Bull Racing, becoming the youngest-ever driver.

While Lewis Hamilton has also consistently outperformed his teammate Valtteri Bottas from 2017–2022, Sam Bird believes Verstappen has done it more fabulously.

Sam Bird commented on Max Verstappen in a recent episode of the BBC Checkered Flag podcast:

“Max’s skill set is remarkable, because Sergio Perez is a very strong driver. But Max Verstappen is not only able to find just a little bit more speed than him, we’re talking a second a lap. Pretty much when he needs to, when he wants to. He’s able to destroy and dispatch people in such a manner that I don’t think I’ve seen.”

“I mean, Lewis dominated Formula 1 for a long period of time, but he didn’t absolutely destroy teammates like this, I don’t think. Valtteri was closer to Lewis than anybody has been to Max recently,” forgetting that Nico Rosberg actually beat Hamilton.

In his column for Sky Sports, Martin Brundle admitted that Max Verstappen could have been reading his bank statements, and he would still have won the Belgian GP race. The Briton wrote:

“It’s not [Max] Verstappen’s fault that he finds himself in such peak form, and so at one with his Red Bull car that, frankly, you sense he could have been sitting in the garage reading his bank statements when the race started, and still won it.”