via Getty
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DECEMBER 12: Race winner and 2021 F1 World Drivers Champion Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing is congratulated by runner up in the race and championship Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 12, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mario Renzi – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
via Getty
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DECEMBER 12: Race winner and 2021 F1 World Drivers Champion Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing is congratulated by runner up in the race and championship Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 12, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mario Renzi – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
The Formula 1 world has seen a rivalry like never before through Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The two greats of the game gave the fans an absolute spectacle throughout the 2021 season. Not sure if the two giants of the game will collide again with each other. But if they do, Verstappen will have an edge over Hamilton, believe Anthony Davidson.
Davidson, the Mercedes associate as well as an F1 pundit, recently opened up on this to Sky Sports. While talking about this, Davidson emphasized the age factor that might be instrumental in the rivalry between Verstappen and Hamilton.
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Saying the Dutchman has an edge as he’s quite younger than the Briton, Davidson stated, “It’s not really a fair fight in many ways because Verstappen is 25 years old, almost 10 years younger than Lewis.”
The Mercedes driver is currently 37-year-old while fellow driver Verstappen is 25-year-old.
After the season-long battle between the duo, Verstappen came out as the clear winner in the very last lap of the very last race. The controversial race ending in Abu Dhabi gave Max Verstappen his first-ever driver’s championship in Formula 1.
Age is a big factor in Formula 1, says Davidson
Max Verstappen is young and feisty. The Dutchman is having an unprecedented season so far as he retained his F1 world title with four races to go. As compared to the Red Bull driver, the Silver Arrows ace seemed feeble.
.@ESPN got a 0.55 rating and 1.029 million viewers in the U.S. for Sunday's F1 @MexicoGP presented by @Heineken, down slightly from 1.140 million last year when the @Max33Verstappen–@LewisHamilton title battle was still ongoing. pic.twitter.com/xlcZhAJAeE
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) November 1, 2022
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Much of this is due to the massive car issues at Mercedes. However, Davidson believes that age is certainly a factor that compels drivers to give up their grip on the sport. Talking about this, the F1 pundit further asserted, “I’ve seen the likes of Ayrton Senna come along, who replaced Alain Prost in that bid to see who was the best driver.”
“Then we saw Michael Schumacher come along. He supersedes Senna and Senna got older and Lewis [Hamilton] came along, supersedes Schumacher and now Verstappen comes along,” concluded the F1 Pundit.
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WATCH THIS STORY: Max Verstappen: ‘Is my title tarnished? Not at all. I really deserved it’
Lewis Hamilton, who has almost spent a decade more than Max Verstappen in Formula 1, is certainly not getting any younger. It’s hard to expect a title-winning performance from the seven-time world champion anytime soon until Mercedes builds a mighty car next season.
