Christian Horner hits back after ‘strange’ Lewis Hamilton dig at Max Verstappen
Christian Horner has labelled Lewis Hamilton’s claim that Max Verstappen’s dominance has not been more impressive than that of Michael Schumacher ‘strange’. The Dutch driver has won each of the last nine Grands Prix, marking a feat that the legendary German never achieved.
The seven-time world champion has just signed a new contract with Mercedes that will keep him racing in F1 until the end of the 2025 season. The iconic Briton is looking to beat Verstappen and claim his record-breaking eighth world title before he eventually retires from the sport.
Unfortunately for Hamilton, Red Bull and Verstappen are showing no signs of slowing down. The Milton Keynes-based team have won every race this season with their RB19 challenger, and Verstappen is now 138 points clear at the top of the standings.
Speaking to Ted Sky Sports F1 about Hamilton’s claims after Friday’s running at Monza, Horner responded: “That’s quite a strange thing for Lewis to be saying after seven years of domination.
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“But on a positive note, it’s great to see that he’s signed up for another couple of years and you know obviously he’s still motivated, still fit enough for the challenge and I’m sure there’ll be a few battles between him and Max in the next couple of years.”
The Red Bull team principal also addressed Hamilton’s criticism of Verstappen’s team-mates in F1, responding: “I mean he’s had several team-mates, obviously he’s always had the upper hand on his team-mates but it’s not just about competing against team-mates.
“It’s about competing against the rest of the field as well. I think that Max has clearly demonstrated what he’s capable of and indeed some drivers might not even want to drive alongside him.”
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Hamilton had previously claimed that the likes of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button represented more fierce team-mate competition than Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Sergio Perez, who have been Verstappen’s most recent colleagues at Red Bull.
He told Sky Sports F1: “The car is incredible, the drivers are doing an amazing job, very consistent, the pit crew is doing a great job, the mechanics are doing a good job, strategy is doing a good job – on point, you can’t fault them.
“In my personal opinion, all my team-mates have been stronger than the team-mates Max has had: Jenson [Button], Fernando, George [Russell], Valtteri [Bottas], Nico [Rosberg]. I’ve had so many. These guys have all been very, very strong, very consistent – and Max has not raced against anyone like that.”
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