{"id":291104,"date":"2023-09-03T23:12:48","date_gmt":"2023-09-03T23:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=291104"},"modified":"2023-09-03T23:12:48","modified_gmt":"2023-09-03T23:12:48","slug":"christian-horner-hits-back-after-strange-lewis-hamilton-dig-at-max-verstappen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/racing\/f1\/christian-horner-hits-back-after-strange-lewis-hamilton-dig-at-max-verstappen\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Horner hits back after \u2018strange\u2019 Lewis Hamilton dig at Max Verstappen"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Christian Horner has labelled Lewis Hamilton\u2019s claim that Max Verstappen\u2019s dominance has not been more impressive than that of Michael Schumacher \u2018strange\u2019. The Dutch driver has won each of the last nine Grands Prix, marking a feat that the legendary German never achieved.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking to Ted\u00a0Sky Sports F1<\/em> about Hamilton\u2019s claims after Friday\u2019s running at Monza, Horner responded: \u201cThat\u2019s quite a strange thing for Lewis to be saying after seven years of domination.<\/p>\n Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news.<\/strong><\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> Lewis Hamilton fires shots at Max Verstappen’s team-mates including Sergio Perez[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBut on a positive note, it\u2019s great to see that he\u2019s signed up for another couple of years and you know obviously he\u2019s still motivated, still fit enough for the challenge and I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be a few battles between him and Max in the next couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n The Red Bull team principal also addressed Hamilton\u2019s criticism of Verstappen\u2019s team-mates in F1, responding: \u201cI mean he\u2019s had several team-mates, obviously he\u2019s always had the upper hand on his team-mates but it\u2019s not just about competing against team-mates.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about competing against the rest of the field as well. I think that Max has clearly demonstrated what he\u2019s capable of and indeed some drivers might not even want to drive alongside him.”<\/p>\n More F1… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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\u2019s most recent colleagues at Red Bull.<\/p>\n He told Sky Sports F1<\/em>: \u201cThe 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 \u2013 on point, you can\u2019t fault them.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 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\u2019ve had so many. These guys have all been very, very strong, very consistent \u2013 and Max has not raced against anyone like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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