Formula 1 News: Why Verstappen beats Hamilton in equal cars
Max Verstappen would triumph over Lewis Hamilton in equal Formula 1 cars says former team boss Joan Villadelprat.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Lewis Hamilton was thought to be the best driver in F1 until Max Verstappen came onto the scene. Now that Verstappen has matured and drives very intelligently, he appears almost unbeatable.
Of course, you must have a good car to dominate, but whereas Lewis Hamilton’s teammates are always close in performance to him in the same car, and often beat him, Verstappen decimates his teammates, all of them, in equal machinery,
Former Benetton boss Joan Villadelprat was asked by PlanetF1.com who he’d put his money on between Hamilton and Verstappen – and was blunt when asked whether he reckons Hamilton is still at Verstappen’s level.
“No. Lewis is making mistakes,” said the Spaniard.
“He doesn’t have the car. And we don’t know how good the Red Bull car is.
“You can compare the Mercedes car, how good it is because [George] Russell is good. And he’s there with Hamilton.
“You don’t know Red Bull. Red Bull is Verstappen and Perez is half-a-second to a second behind. Checo is not a bad driver, he’s a f**king quick driver.
“Maybe the way they have developed the car, maybe the way that Max is asking things, maybe what you put in that car to make Max be quicker goes totally against what Checo probably wants.”
“I think, today, [Max],” he said.
“Today, he has got such confidence. I believe that, today.
“That doesn’t mean that… well, you look at Alonso and what he’s done this year, at 42. He’s still like a young kid. Today, the drivers’ careers can be longer and whatever, in the past, 30 years, 32, 33, you already needed to retire.
“Today, you may arrive at 50, if you carry on like that. I believe that the body language, what you see, the way they approach the weekend, the way you do the first lap – because Max, on one lap, is there. Bam, that’s it. Wet, dry, humid, you name it – it doesn’t take more than one lap to be there.
“But he is putting the foot down on the first lap, and the first lap is quicker. Boom, that’s it. That’s his confidence.
“He’s got the confidence now that he’s untouchable. When a Formula 1 driver, a World Champion, gets to that stage, it’s very difficult to stop it.
“Hamilton has had moments like that. But… how can I say it, without sounding against Hamilton? Because I’m not at all, I love Hamilton.
“But he had a very good time with Mercedes, knowing the rules of the engine well before anybody else. They get the best f**king engine in the paddock, and, for a while, it had been the most powerful.
“Not only the chassis, but the engine in particular was the most powerful engine in the paddock. That helped him to win a lot of championships.
“If you compare [Nico] Rosberg and him, I didn’t see Rosberg as anything special. Rosberg was sometimes able, and [Valtteri] Bottas was sometimes quicker than Hamilton in qualifying as well, and he’s not a special driver.
“We’re not talking about Bottas being in the league of [Ayrton] Senna or Hamilton, Max or Michael – not even Rosberg was in that league. So what that means is that they had a tool that was more powerful than the rest.
“I don’t think Verstappen has that. Because, the first year they won the championship, it was like that (indicates a smidgen of a gap with his fingers).
“Today, his teammate is not even close. And his teammate is not bad – he’s as quick as Bottas and Rosberg. Checo Perez is quicker than both of them. That’s what I think. So I don’t know how much is the car, and how much is Max,” but it certainly appears that Verstappen’s talent is on another level.