Records are meant to be broken or “destroyed”! However, no one could’ve imagined anyone would get close to the numbers set by Lewis Hamilton. The Brit absolutely dominated the sport for almost eight years and has put up massive numbers in all categories. However, the Mercedes man is now experiencing the longest dry spell of his career in terms of race wins. With Hamilton stuck at 103 race wins, Max Verstappen is making ground every race weekend. If this continues, which will according to a two-time world champion, no records will be safe from the Dutchman.
The 1998 & ’99 champion Mika Hakkinen believes Verstappen is unstoppable this season, as he has expressed multiple times. However, the Finn believes this dominance won’t stop in 2023. In fact, he believes Verstappen won’t rest until he has conquered it all, especially with the help of Adrian Newey, the Red Bull mastermind.
“All records are there to be broken, destroyed,” said Hakkinen in his exclusive with Motorsport. “Max is the star at the moment. He is constantly improving his performance, maybe sometimes without even acknowledging it. He is getting better, driving faster, and can break all records.” [translated via Google]
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“I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens. He’s also in a good team. Adrian Newey is a great designer and helps design this fantastic car. He has every chance,” concluded Hakkinen.
The Finn isn’t wrong because Red Bull is on a different level compared to the rest of the grid. Verstappen is already on course to breaking Sebastian Vettel‘s 9 race wins in a row record. What’s a few more? In fact, even Hamilton is in agreement with Hakkinen.
Lewis Hamilton believes Max Verstappen will break his F1 records
Hamilton is very well aware of how far off he and his team are from Red Bull, even though he’d like to be a thorn in Verstappen’s sights. Verstappen has showcased his dominance almost every weekend. After seeing this continued relentless approach from the 2021 season, even Hamilton believes his records aren’t safe if this continues.
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Hamilton said, “He’s [Max Verstappen] got a very long career ahead of him so absolutely. Ultimately records are there to be broken and he’s got an amazing team.”
However, Hamilton doesn’t want it to be a cakewalk for the Dutchman. “I hope we get to have some, at least within the last period of time in my career, I hope we get to have some more close racing,” he added.
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We are not sure if Hamilton will get to race Verstappen again as he did in 2021, although the entire F1 world certainly hopes so. The 2024 season will give us some more insight into this possibility.
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