Max Verstappen has replaced Lewis Hamilton on top of the timesheet, but there is still one area where the Briton remains the undisputed champion – excelling off the playing field! Hamilton’s unique style and varied interests off-track made him the face of modern motorsport. So whenever F1 visits anywhere outside Europe, he’s always surrounded by celebrities, like in Miami this year. While he often uses his celebrity for social activism, he also loves being in the limelight – one of the reasons why he is so marketable!  

On the other hand, Verstappen’s passion is just racing and has often avoided the limelight. When he’s not racing on the track, he races in the virtual world, and he doesn’t like any distractions. That’s why, whenever F1 tweaks the format for entertainment purposes, the Dutchman has always been the first one to speak against it. Recently, a ‘driver introduction ceremony’ was added to the pre-race procedures, and it obviously didn’t go down well with the 2x champ. So he said, “Whether or not you like these kinds of shows is personal. Some people like to be in the spotlight, some don’t. I personally don’t like it.”

According to Felipe Massa, Verstappen’s quality of staying focused ‘makes him a clear winner’. Speaking about Verstappen’s dedication to the sport, the former Ferrari driver Massa said, as quoted by F1Maximaal, “He is purely focused on racing, without distractions of any kind. This helps him to always reach his highest level. If he could, he would race 24 hours a day, in the simulator or on the track.”

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While Massa appreciated Verstappen’s ‘pure focus’, he also expressed concern over Lewis Hamilton‘s motivation to remain in F1, considering his many interests outside the cockpit.

Lewis Hamilton was like Max Verstappen

Despite being F1’s most successful driver of all time, having won seven world championships and a record 103 Grand Prix wins, Hamilton didn’t win a race after 2021. Even in 2023, Mercedes is unlikely to win races and compete for the championship, given the performance of the car. Massa raised concerns about whether Hamilton has the desire to continue competing at a lower level or if he should instead consider retirement.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, he said, “It is not easy to find motivation when you have already won everything and drive a Mercedes that is struggling to reach the desired level. At the beginning of his career, he was still like [Max] Verstappen, and he only thought about racing 24 hours a day. However, Lewis now has many interests outside of racing.”

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Do you think Hamilton’s ‘many’ interests off-track are affecting his performance on the track?