Is Lewis Hamilton Afraid of Max Verstappen? – “Knows He Will Be Defeated”

A driver pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in the same team would really be something, wouldn’t it?

But as dreamy as that would sound, chances are it may never materialize whilst they are in F1.

Seemingly, though, Hamilton may not exactly be excited at the idea of the Dutchman racing alongside him. That is the opinion of former racing driver Tom Coronel, who also believes the seven-time F1 champion sees Verstappen as the only driver that ‘frightens’ him.

Coronel stated, “Lewis is only afraid of Verstappen. He is the only driver who frightens him. Max is the only one who can dethrone him and Lewis is well aware of that.” (translated via Google Translate)

Lewis Hamilton knows Max Verstappen will eventually ‘dethrone’ him, said Coronel

“He knows it won’t be Ricciardo or Bottas who will hurt him. Max and Lewis are by far the best drivers in Formula 1 at the moment, so I understand 100% he wants a veto.”

In different machinery so far, Hamilton has gotten the better of Verstappen in terms of both race wins and titles. However, those numbers could easily change hands if the Red Bull driver were to make the switch to Mercedes.

Coronel continued, “Of course we say that Max is going to dethrone him, but that has not happened yet. Max is in Lewis’s head and that is dangerous for a driver. Now has it.

“He has the advantage of the best car, but you don’t have that in one team. Lewis knows he will be defeated by Max, that he will eventually dethrone him.”

Hamilton could retire after winning the eighth F1 championship title

With a proposed new two-year deal, the 36-year-old will get a great opportunity to seal that all-important eighth Drivers’ title and make his mark in history. The Mercedes driver after all has for long been an icon of the sport, and would want to also retire the right way.

In doing so, that would give the young guns like Verstappen and Leclerc to battle it out for the championship. The former, in particular, has been contending for top three for some time now and would want to take the next gigantic step to becoming a titleholder.

Therefore, nobody knows what the future of both these drivers hold. But there is a growing sense of realization that a Hamilton-Verstappen duo at Mercedes might no longer be a likely possibility.

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