Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Yas Marina, 2021

Verstappen expects Hamilton will return in 2022 to pursue eighth F1 title

2022 F1 season

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World champion Max Verstappen expects Lewis Hamilton will return to Formula 1 in 2022 after doubt was cast over the Mercedes driver’s future in the sport.

Verstappen secured his first world title last weekend following a controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where a late safety car restart saw him pass Hamilton on the last lap to win the championship.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team had threatened to appeal the result with the FIA’s International Court of Appeal, until a statement on Thursday confirmed they would not pursue any further action.

Neither Hamilton nor Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff attended the FIA’s annual prize giving gala in Paris this evening. Wolff said earlier today he was not certain about Hamilton’s desire to return in 2022 following the circumstances around how they lost the championship.

When asked at the prize giving gala ahead of officially receiving the world drivers’ championship trophy whether he felt sorry for Hamilton, Verstappen said he believes Hamilton will accept that the way in which he lost the title was just a part of racing.

“I don’t feel sorry [for the way he lost the title], of course I can understand that it can be very painful, but, at the end of the day, that’s racing as well,” Verstappen said. “You have to keep fighting until the end. You know that in racing, anything can happen. And he also won a championship like that, so I think he can understand as well.”

Verstappen believes that Hamilton is capable of competing for what would be a record-breaking eighth world championship next year and expects to see his Mercedes rival return on the grid next season.

“Of course, I can understand the first few days after a race like that, you’re not happy,” explained Verstappen. “But you should also understand, as I said before, this is racing at the end of the day and these things can happen to you.

“I think he should look back at what he has achieved already and that should give him a lot of comfort and should also be that drive to keep on going. Because he is still trying to challenge for that eighth title and for sure he can do that again next year. So I don’t see any reason to give up or stop now.”

Now officially confirmed as world champion for 2021, Verstappen says he will take some time to rest and enjoy having achieved his “life’s goal”, before refocusing on defending his title in the new year.

“First of all, I’ll have a bit of sleep the coming days and weeks and then I’m sure that once it turns the first of January I’m ready to go again,” he said.

“I love what I’m doing and I love being part of the team. I already said on the radio in the in-lap – I want to do this with this team for another 10 to 15 years. So hopefully within those years, we can win more championships, because that’s always been the goal.”

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Will Wood
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107 comments on “Verstappen expects Hamilton will return in 2022 to pursue eighth F1 title”

  1. “He won a championship like that” did he?
    Pretty sure 2008 was within the rules and decided by pure luck of the weather, not an engineered show by rule breaking by the officials

    1. Sunday was within the rules too, as the now uncontested stewards’ ruling makes clear.

      1. There are no rules in F1 since 2021 Brazilian GP.

      2. There may have been a slight breach last sunday, but maybe it was unnoticed. According to rumours it could be something rgd. a safety car. I will try to find out what it was, just its hary to find.

        1. For sure it was a breach, the place should’ve been given back, or penilised for gaining the lasting advantage after cutting turn 6 in lap 1 :p

          1. Yeah, only the competitors have to obey the rules. The race director can do whatever the heck he wants, as confirmed by the stewards decision. Watch out for him sending a driver to the back of the grid for forgetting to shake his hand or bringing out the safety car without an incident when someone is out in the lead for a better show. It’s all legal for him to do, right?

            At least it is if you accept that joke of a ruling.

      3. Not contesting a rule may give it the appearance of legitimacy, but it doesn’t confirm it.

        1. To prove something is wrong you need to present proof.
          It’s not religion. At least for normal people.

      4. That would be the steward ruling that includes a phrase about article 48.12 not being followed in full?

        1. And if you take the time to read the full ruling you know better.

    2. Lewis was in 4th before the rain so if anything it didn’t help

      1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
        17th December 2021, 12:37

        @giraffeman92 True, and also he lost the 2007 championship because of team strategy, lost the 2016 championship because of a failed PU, and now lost the 2021 championship because of a race director not doing what he defended himself for doing in the Eiffel GP 2020.

        People may want to hark back to his “luck” in Brazil 2008, but they forget that a) It was a McLaren strategy to play it safe that put him down the order instead of fighting for the win and b) if Lewis had been “luckier” her would be a 10 times world champion this year!

        I understand why Lewis is taking this hard. It’s the third time it’s happened to him.

        1. a race director not doing what he defended himself for doing in the Eiffel GP 2020

          Not only defended himself, stated categorically that he had no choice but to do.

          Given that it has never been mentioned again and nobody has called that interpretation into question before now, isn’t it a bit odd that he does an about face on what he is allowed to do just at the point where he has contradicted himself?

    3. Actually one of the GPs was engineered by one of teams which resulted in Hamilton’s rival Massa losing 10 points and Hamilton gaining 6 points on him. Hopefully Mercedes can push to void that race too so Massa can get a WDC for the integrity of F1.

      1. @brum55

        For crying out loud, my goodness. We cannot put call into question situations that have been decided before. It also does not mean that someone has 7 championships and the other one none, that we give a championship because the driver does not have. If the driver ends the season with most points and deservely wins the title, he is the winner regardless if the other driver comes close to winning. People are really getting stupid and making me throw up in terms of how awards in sports are awarded. Championships ain’t a gift.

      2. Anyone that is old enough to remember that season like me can also remember Spa 2008 and Fuji 2008 @brum55. I think you forgot!

        1. @john-h Spa 2008, Hamilton gained an advantage from cutting the corner as he immediately tucked behind Kimi to overtake him immediately afterwards. He wouldn’t have got to the position behind him to make that move without cutting the corner.

          Fuji, you are spot on, however Massa only gained 2 points vs the 10 lost from Singapore in a championship that was won by a point.

          1. And a similar incident from VER in Saudi Arabia earned what penalty?

          2. Singapore 2008 was unfortunate but Massa was a third party @brum55. Also it was the Ferrari pit crew that really lost the points there with the mess up with the fuel rig. The Spa penalty has always been contentious, and is to this day as we have seen recently. Anyway, I can probably dig up my comments from 13 years ago on this site somewhere about that season.

          3. @john-h – Well, if messing up dismisses misfortunes, then Hamilton brought over himself the harsh penalty at Spa and the bonus point for Massa at Fuji by messing up at both cases.

            Anyway, let’s factor in the discrepancies on the final standings:

            1. HAM – 98pts. Adding 4pts for his victory at Spa, 102pts. But we’d have to deduct 6pts from the Singapore farce, and also 1 point for his 5th place at Hungary, as any sensible Hamilton fan usually accounts that an engine blow in the closing stages of a virtually won race invalidates any meritoriousness from whoever capitalises over it. So, 95 points, final.

            2. MAS – 97pts. Adding his 10pts for the commanding win he should’ve scored at Hungaroring, 107. Now, deducting 4pts for Spa and 1 for Fuji (even though Hamilton was a 3rd party in this case), that’d be 102 points.

            So, final standings would be Massa champion ahead of Hamilton by 7 points. If only Massa had a passionate fan-base…

          4. Jean-Christophe
            17th December 2021, 14:01

            I seem to remember that the rule that got Hamilton the penalty was created on the following race. By the time Hamilton made his move on Kimi, that rule did not exist. Massa, who’d been nowhere to be seen the entire race benefited from Mosley loathing Ron Denis.

      3. Nell (@imabouttogoham)
        16th December 2021, 22:28

        Your lack of logic here is appalling.

      4. The sport also allowed Kimi to keep his 2007 title even though it was confirmed that at least one race was won with an illegal car (the floor was designed to flex when on track, allowing it to breach the minimum ride height restrictions).

        Red Bull were also allowed to keep the victories that they achieved in 2012 with an illegal floor, and Vettel was allowed to keep his title.

        Red Bull were also allowed to escape punishment for their illegal front wing in 2014 too (having their qualifying times deleted in Abu Dhabi was a pretty minor penalty for that offence).

        1. Sounds like the meagre penalty Mercedes received for an illegal wing in Brazil.

      5. Dave (@davewillisporter)
        17th December 2021, 12:40

        @brum55 I don’t recall Renault messing with Ferrari’s fuel rig!

  2. Of course Max sees no issue with the way the race ended. He shows again how self absorbed he is and how he lacks self awareness. Maybe in time he will understand that he did not win this championship fairly if at all. It will be a championship forever tainted

    1. You are wrong. Give me one example in the history of any sport where a result is not accepted by the masses because it was controversial? People in general only remember the trophies, not the circumstances.

      1. Easy. Wembley 1966. Oh, wait :-)

        1. So I had to educate myself with Wikipedia:

          In the 1966 World Cup final, one of the most controversial moments in sport’s history happened in the 101st minute of the final between England and West Germany. On that play, England’s Geoff Hurst hit his shot off the crossbar, which ricochet down onto the goal line and went out.

          On the play, Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst was undecided if the play was a goal or not, but Soviet referee Tofik Bakhramov signaled to Dienst that the ball crossed the line. According to Bakhramov’s memoirs, he believed the ball had bounced back not from the crossbar, but from the net, which made the movement insignificant.

          According to a story of when Bakhramov was on his deathbed he was asked how he was so sure it was a goal and he gave the one-word reply “Stalingrad”, which is the name of the city in the then Soviet Union in which over 75,000 Soviets died against Nazi Germany.

          Yes, I guess that did kick the wind out of the German squad and would have affected the final outcome of the game. But I stand by what I said: England is still remembered as the winners.

          Tonya Harding, now that might be a different kettle of fish. I’ll have to watch the film.

      2. Tonya Harding @shimks?

        1. Ah, yes, @john-h, I must watch the film!

      3. Not accepted by the masses? you mean the British Lewis fans? You are in you own bubble where you can’t see that worldwide people are actually glad that Max won on Sunday and also think that it is deserved that Max has become World Champion.

    2. Agreed.. Max seems totally tone deaf and spends every day legitimising the race weekend.

    3. To split a hair– Verstappen won the championship, fairly.

      He did not win the Abu Dhabi grand prix fairly.

      Being level on points with Lewis Hamilton after 21 races is nothing to sneer at.

      1. I dont think this is an unfair viewpoint.

        Whilst I remain disappointed that Ham lost the championship, I am not distraught that he lost it. I am not distraught that Ver won it (event though I do not like his racing style). But, I am still quite unhappy about the circumstances of the final race.

        1. This is my view too. I’m disappointed that my favoured driver didn’t win, but believe Verstappen to be a worthy winner who won in unworthy circumstances through no fault of his own.

          I cannot be even close to happy about the race on Sunday though. Whoever won, F1 lost as soon as a race director was confirmed to be able to ignore the rulebook entirely and do as he pleases.

      2. Dave (@davewillisporter)
        17th December 2021, 12:43

        To split a hair– Verstappen won the championship, fairly.

        Did you see the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix? Max lost his nut that race. He was lucky not to get a harsher penalty. No, Max’s driving this year was more akin to when he first started and he got a lot of criticism then. Just look at Perez and Lewis at Abu Dhabi if you want to see fair racing.

    4. I don’t know where to put this but many people tend to forget that Lewis lost 25 points by his own mistake in Baku and was helped by red flag in Imola, was under Max in Monza. Verstappen was a pin in Hungary, in tyre barrier in GB, lost his tyre in Baku and was top of Lewis in Monza. How hard it is to remember that racing is racing. I’m 100& on the side that Masi failed in Abu Dhabi. In the end would that have changed the outcome. Possibly not. Sainz would have looked as these two would have crashed to each other and taken the win. No in all seriousness Masi made a mistake and he is the one who should be punished. Yes he is the judge and these things should not happen. Still Max and Lewis have made their own mistakes and those shouldn’t happen eather.

  3. If Lewis doesn’t race in 2022, it’s because either the Mercedes won’t be dominant or George Russell is too close.

    1. Only in your mind.@proesterchen

    2. It doesn’t matter what if you think it was fair. The official organisation, the FIA, made clear that Verstappen won. It’s pretty self absorbed to think otherwise. Because Mercedes feel they are robbed it doesn’t mean they are… The protest were disregard. So the results are clear and legal.

      Maybe Hamilton should have defended better. He left the door open. Look at Palmers analysis on the F1 YouTube channel. Perez was able to hold off Hamilton on old tyres and when DRS was enabled.

      1. Perez benefitted by not being in the championship fight, he could put his car where ever know that Hamilton would do everything to avoid a collision, Hamilton on the other hand, knew Ves would do anything include running him off the track to win.

      2. If someone has caused me injury (of whatever kind) and I decide not to press charges or sue them, that is not the same as saying it was fair or legal.

    3. Jean-Christophe
      17th December 2021, 14:07

      So he’d know that before running right?

      1. Yes, Lewis probably made a decision before the Abu Dhabi GP.

        And then real life interfered, and he may now need to reconsider.

    4. Well, George is going to be an issue. This is more a Rosberg or better than a Bottas

  4. There’s a lot I could say about last weekend, but my overwhelming emotion is sadness that we’re having to talk about the FIA rather than two fantastic drivers who gave us such a thrilling season. What happened was not the fault of Hamilton or Verstappen; they both deserved to win and Hamilton didn’t deserve to lose in that way.

    Pre-race, I did wonder whether Hamilton might retire if he won. 8 titles, statistically the unrivalled greatest of all time and with no reason to risk his flawless reputation against a hungry George Russell. Now, I wouldn’t blame him in the slightest if he walked away from a sport/show which is increasingly leaning to the “show” side.

    For Mercedes, it’s difficult to know who they’d take on to replace him. In Russell, they have a clear upcoming talent, they’d surely want a proven entity alongside him, but I struggle to see who. Alonso is probably too old, Ricciardo is struggling against Norris, Vettel seems clearly past his prime and Leclerc wouldn’t leave Ferrari. Could they bring Bottas back? Personally I’d choose either Norris or Ocon, or bring in de Vries.

    As for Lewis, I really hope he stays on and manages to take one final crushing title against the baying young guard before bowing out. Having seen off challenges as either team-mates or title rivals from Alonso, Raikkonen, Massa, Vettel, Button, Rosberg and Bottas, maybe he’s just got enough left to show Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, Sainz, Norris etc. what a 7-time WDC can do before bowing out!

    1. I think Hamilton showed this season what a 7 time champion can do. Particularly in the last 4 races. But I’m sure for a large proportion of ‘fans’ whatever he can achieve in the future will never be quiet enough to clear the bar they have set for him.

    2. I really don’t mind seeing VET in that seat. I’ve grown to like him after he left Red Bull.

      1. My wife and I have come to the same conclusion about Vettel. He was insufferable at times with Red Bull and Ferrari, but especially in the last year he appears to be a genuinely nice guy.

        1. petebaldwin (@)
          16th December 2021, 22:35

          Vettel has always been a nice guy but when you apply immense pressure to people, some crack and a nastier version of them appears. Vettel is definitely one of them! Put him in a fight for the title and he’s not so nice…. Let him cruise around in the midfield and he’s great.

          It’s like when you have team mates and everyone say how great they are together. Give them a dominant car and they’ll fall out pretty quickly.

      2. @ben-n I agree. I’m very disappointed about the finale, not because of who won it, I think they’ve both been amazing this year and would both have deserved it, but because of how it ended, in a farce from the FIA which very nearly sees them in court.

    3. Eh. Consider this remarkable achievement by Michael Masi:

      The day after the most nail-biting championship in over a decade is decided, the headline isn’t the driver who won, or the driver who lost.

      That’s impressive. :)

  5. Max, Lewis Hamilton is already 8-times champion in our hearts. No need for him to be among FIA cheaters.

    1. You hold yourself and your heart in very high regard. But the world is not a game, and this season was not your save file. You don’t get to decide. I’d call you a sore loser, but then I fail to see how you’re connected with Hamilton and Mercedes.

    2. Speak for yourself, silverstone, baku and hungary make up for the abu dhabi SC and then some.

    3. I thought it was very unsportsmanlike not to show up. How old is he? 37? The technical director from Mercedes showed some respect and was sour like Toto and Hamilton.

      Mercedes is always really incongruent in their communication.

      “We want to win on track” but brings a laywer to the race… Hamilton going on stage and being a good sport but doesnt show up for interviews and the gala. And there are.countless examples. Luckily Norris and Albon seems genuine.

    4. In my heart ricciardo is a nine time wdc, funny how that works

      1. In my heart Alonso is a 10 time champion and the world better accept that or I leave F1, #wesupportAlonso #Blessed #ShameonF1

        1. Not only in your heart, Illusive. f1metrics, surely the best math model F1 analysis out there, agrees with you. In the model (equalized for the car/team factor) Fred comes out as the best driver in 2005, 06, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16, that’s ten for you.
          Sadly no f1metrics post has come out for over 2 years (Nov 22th, 2019 was the last) and we don’t have the 2020 and 2021 end of season reports.

  6. @ben-n He didn’t see off a title challenge from Kimi though did he? And he didn’t outscore Button or Alonso as team mates, nor was he able to stamp his authority over Rosberg. He only saw off Massa and Rosberg for the title in similar machinery, beat Vettel in superior machinery and lost to Verstappen in at best similar machinery.
    And no Hamilton didn’t deserve to win as he was not better than Verstappen and required Masi giving him a very soft penalty to stay in the championship and then a much faster car in race conditions in the final few races of the season to cut down the lead Verstappen was once again able to build.

    1. Yeah Hamilton was rubbish guys… and if you don’t agree, GET OVER IT!

      1. Jelle van der Meer (@)
        16th December 2021, 20:58

        Lewis is certainly not rubbish, in fact one of the best drivers of this century, but he is also not the living god or the best driver ever to drive in F1 some folks hold him to be.

        The utter dominance of Mercedes from 2014 to 2020 and still best car in 2021 drastically distorted Lewis stats, to a similar but lesser extend as it did with Schumacher’s stats while driving for Ferrari.

        In 2021 Lewis made unusual mistakes in the first half of the season, after the US GP he has been relentless but also massively helped by the overspeed the Mercedes with new engine had.
        He certainly used his years of experience to get the maximum out of that Mercedes in no way Bottas could, similar as Max got the maximum out of the Red Bull in no way Perez could.

        1. I used to think Schumacher’s stats were inflated by Ferrari dominance. But in reality that dominance was because of Schumacher’s involvement. And the same goes for Hamilton. Do we really think Mercedes would have won 8 constructors and 7 drivers titles if they’d hired Hulkenberg instead?

          1. Do we really think Mercedes would have won 8 constructors and 7 drivers titles if they’d hired Hulkenberg instead?

            Given the dominance of the team, yes on the Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles from 2014 through 2020.

            This year, not so much. (then again, Mercedes may not have put Bottas in the second car whose at times lacklustre performances made this year closer than it could have been.)

          2. I mentioned above Freds’s 10 WDC titles as per the f1metrics model (equalized for the car/team factor), Well that doesn’t make him the GOAT, that’s Schuey with a whopping 12 WDCs (every year from 1992 to 2004 bar 1999. Seb gets 2 (2015 and 2017) and Lew also 2 (2007, 2018)

            So, Schuey’s status is not only a matter of Ferrari dominance. He absolutely owned the nineties, often in subpar machinery.

            And yes, I know math models are flawed, but anyway they beat people’s biased opinions most of the tiome. But much as I admire Fred, I do not reckon him as greater than El Chueco (Fangio is #4 in the f1metrics model, Alonso is #3, Stewart is #2 and Schumacher #1)

    2. There’s no need to trigger people who are just coming to grips with reality.

      Give ’em a hug instead, they’ve had their grieving stilted by false hope, and we’re all race fans after all.

    3. Sorry, this was in response to the post above, had a Masi moment. *facepalm*

    4. well he did beat Alonso

    5. Completely agree with this.

    6. Look, can the Max fans quit with the persecution complex. There were pretty ridiculous decisions from the officials which fell both ways throughout the season, and even Adrian Newey reckons Red Bull had the better car this year. Max may have lost more points from them, but that is always questionable (in exactly the same way as it’s questionable how the race would have ended in Abu Dhabi had certain things played out differently). Max carried on through it and came out on top in the end. He did brilliantly.

      None of that changes the fact that we have one of 2 situations here:
      1) If you accept the entirety of the stewards verdict on Sunday, the race director has the power to make up any rule he wants with regard the safety car and race start procedure, for whatever reason he wants. This is not something anybody should be supporting, even if they think the regulations actually mean that. It would make it perfectly legal and acceptable for him to send a car to the back of the grid or call out a safety car without any need. If someone has a lead and he wants to spice up the show, he would be perfectly within his rights to deploy the safety car to bunch up the field and make the race “more exciting”. Do you really want one man to have that power? Is that the F1 you want to see?
      2) The race director knew the rules (confirmed by his statement after the Eiffel GP last year) but decided to ignore them anyway and make something new up which benefitted only one driver on the track. That’s no different to a team running an illegal car or a driver jumping the lights, except that the matter is (effectively) judged by the perpetrator. Do you really want that official to get away with that? Is that the F1 you want to see?

      I cannot understand how anyone can be happy with the state of F1 as exposed by the incident on Sunday.

  7. “But you should also understand, as I said before, this is racing at the end of the day and these things can happen to you.“

    I would love to hear his calm, measured and rational reaction if i this had happened to him.

    1. His ” it is what it is” mentality already showed on several occasions this year he was wronged.
      So of course he would be dissapointed , just like Lewis is. But you have to accept the reality and go on. If you can not do that you better stop in F1.
      The FIA still stays FIA and the discussion should be about FIA and not about Max Verstappen.
      Verstappen an Hamilton fought a clean fight in that last lap. The had the same chances when the SC was called out.

      1. wow, every comment of yours is full of nonsense. same chances when SC was removed against the rules – no, he was gifted a disgraceful win by the RD.

        1. It wasn’t against the rules. The official results are clear. The protests are disregarded. And Verstappen was not gifted the WDC. Look at the stats for this year.

          1. lets agree to disagree

    2. He did preface that with “Of course, I can understand the first few days after a race like that, you’re not happy,”.

  8. I would really prefer VER doesn’t act like this: “And he also won a championship like that, so I think he can understand as well.” What’s he referring to?

    VER did not take it well that he collided with Ocon in Brazil 2018; he went and punched him in the garage.
    VER did not take it well losing the race in Saudi Arabia. He walked off the podium.
    Just because the end turned out OK, it doesn’t make sense for him to act as if he “earned” without any controversy.

    I would rather that VER talks about how HAM lost out with a single point in 2007, and he managed to come back to win in 2008. Or he lost to Rosberg in 2016 and managed to win in 2017. And hoping that he would give him a fair fight to retain the title in 2022. Such grace is often lacking in these first time champions.

    1. he went and punched him in the garage.

      and s the fantasy grows..
      better version for later on..
      He killed him and ripped his body to pieces..
      He shot him and hing him out to dry.

      He pushed.. stupid thing to do. But in the heat het pushed a driver who kept provoking him.

      1. Are you having a stroke?

      2. u know the scenes are recorded and be rewatched. ever heard of youtube maybe? are you a younger brother of max, defending by all that nonsense?

        1. Maybe you should rewatch it then. He didn’t punched him. He gave him a slight push.

          1. he did not give him just a slight push. but i wont argue anymore, cause facts are clear and everyone can rewatch himself.

          2. @romtrain

            A hard push is still a push, not a punch.

            I just rewatched the clip and Max pushed a bunch of times. He never punched.

    2. Because Hamilton pushed off Verstappen off track and didn’t get a penalty. Same in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton didn’t get a penalty. So the FIA is inconsistent for this whole year and Red Bull just handled the SC better than Mercedes.

      1. HAM didnt push him offtrack in AbuDhabi. And I dont get which other pushing off the track you mean in your first sentence.

        And RB didnt handle the safety car better, but was gifted by a RD, who broke the rules for them.

        I know its hard to criticize a fair racer based on fact, but it makes no sense doing it based on illusions. I am out of discussion on such a basis, so feel free to spam your alternative reality.

      1. Strange i don’t see Ocon going down after Max hit him in the face? Because that didn’t happen just pushing even when Ocon was smirking (which as Dutch is allowed to deck him for that)
        Or your defination of pushing is hitting in that case we stopping this discussion.

  9. And he also won a championship like that, so I think he can understand as well.”

    Ah yes, In Brazil 2008 the safety car was deployed because of the rain. Lewis got a chance pit stop for wets and a random selection of lapped cars we’re let through, safety car came in off schedule and Lewis did a great pass to win.

    I’ll have a glass of what he’s having.

    1. “And Lewis did a great pass to win”, Huh, Lewis passed a breaking down Glock (Nothing Great about it) with a few corners to go to claim 5th place, he was in the fight and got a bit of luck.

  10. Max Verstappen isn’t very empathetic, is he?

  11. Verstappen can learn a lot from Perez on how to drive a Red Bull defensively and fairly.

    He can also learn a lot from ricciardo on how to drive a Red Bull offensively and fairly ‘divebomb’

    1. Well Max is a WDC and those drivers are not. So I guess VER is getting results. Ricciardo and Perez both lost from their team mates. Both after a transfer though.

  12. Time to let another driver loose on Max. Lewis has done the Prost bit,skill and experience against daredevil speed. But enough is enough let someone like Lando go at him in the Merc. then we will see how quick he really is.

    1. Nell (@imabouttogoham)
      16th December 2021, 22:38

      plenty of other drivers have had clashes with Verstappen – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkAoSghdD6Y

      The fight vs Leclerc in Silverstone 2019 is a good example of how his contemporaries will approach fighting him. Especially now that he’s the hunted, he’s the one everyone is chasing with the 1 on his car and on his WDC tally.

      1. Isn’t it early to say verstappen is the hunted? Mercedes NEVER made the 2nd best car any single year since 2014 to 2021, they always had a dominant car, or the best car, or the joint-best, so in my opinion they are the team to beat, and if you rate russell they now arguably have the strongest driver pairing too.

        Let’s see what car they and the others make before thinking verstappen is the one to beat, cause car is more important than driver in f1.

        1. In this season RB and Merc were pretty even I would say. Mexico, 2xAustria, Monaco, Silverstone – all tracks where RB was clearly the faster car. And some other races it was pretty even.

          Whether all the changes of next year will help RB or Merc, nobody can tell.

    2. Well the Merc is the fastest car. Let’s see what Hamilton can do against Russell. Bottas was not a real competitor. Where was he in the last race… He got outraced by Yuki.

      1. Lol and George Russel got otqualified by Nicolas Latifi a 4 yr gp2 guy a Mazepin level talent you guys are un for a rude awakening next year. Russel aint 20 secs up the road evry race on Laitifi like Ham is with Bottas. Hamilton beats Bottas convincingly in the race just like Max does Perez. I think you are forgtting Hamilton’s teammates in F1 before mate. Go watch his year vs Alonso one tenth away in his first race as a rookie. You guys make me laugh

  13. Frankly, I don’t care if Lewis walks away (or Max for that matter), someone else will step into the all conquering Merc and be as competitive, George will probably ruin it for Lewis anyway next year by being substantial more competitive than Bottas and Lewis is probably aware of that threat, he has 7 after all and is no spring chicken for F1.
    The show will go on and new rivalries will form, F1 lovers will still get their fill.

  14. “I love what I’m doing and I love being part of the team. I already said on the radio in the in-lap – I want to do this with this team for another 10 to 15 years. So hopefully within those years, we can win more championships, because that’s always been the goal.”

    Can Max reach 100 wins without a dominant car? If he has regularly top machinery like Lewis did between 2008-13 and win in average 5 races per season for the next 15 years or so (a tall order) he would get really close or reach that figure.

  15. I thought it was very unsportsmanlike not to show up. How old is he? 37? The technical director from Mercedes showed some respect and was sour like Toto and Hamilton.

    Mercedes is always really incongruent in their communication.

    “We want to win on track” but brings a laywer to the race… Hamilton going on stage and being a good sport but doesnt show up for interviews and the gala. And there are.countless examples. Luckily Norris and Albon seems genuine.

  16. Prediction: Mercedes and Lewis come back with a vengeance even with the new car and dominate this whole thing again!!! The slumbering monster has been awoken.

  17. So I am a HAM fan, but on that last lap he didnt even defend the inside line. why ? surely he knew VER will come down there given any chance. defending was really weak

  18. Missed that lesson in driving school

  19. Max is a dirty driver who puts fair drivers at greater risk of injury or death.

    Eventually if the officials continue to do nothing but enable him, the fair drivers will run the dirty one off the road hard.

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