How Is Lewis Hamilton’s Driving Style Radically Different to Max Verstappen’s?

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were engraved as eternal rivals after the fiery 2021 season. The Dutchman outclassed the seven-time World Champion and stopped him from taking the record-breaking eighth title home. With both drivers performing at their respective peaks, one must wonder what is it that makes them so special as drivers. For sure, they must have the same driving style, that’s why they’re the best, right? Not really.

An F1 car to a driver is like a glove to a hand. The car is almost like an extension of the body and not a foreign object. Every driver develops a style of driving as they make it up the Formula ladder. Some drivers like a pointy car, while others like a car with a super strong rear end. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen lie on the opposite ends of the spectrum of what they like their car to be like. 

Max Verstappen likes a super pointy car that has a strong front end but a somewhat loose rear end. This makes the car oversteery. The style is all about managing the read end from stepping out. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, likes a car with a strong rear end. A car that is a little hesitant to turn in but is super stable going into the corner. As a result of this, Hamilton is able to brake later than most others and make time up on his rivals. 

Peter Windsor, in one of his videos, explained how Lewis Hamilton has the best feel for the brake pedal among all the F1 drivers on the grid at the moment. He also advised how Michael Schumacher came close to Lewis Hamilton in terms of feel for the brake. With Mercedes shifting the cockpit much further in the car with W14, Hamilton had trouble feeling what the rear of his car was doing and wasn’t sure of the rear stability. 

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Alex Albon, on a recent podcast, explained how he likes a car that has a strong front end but revealed how Max Verstappen’s level of pointy is off the scale. The Dutchman doesn’t only like the car to be pointy but to low-key dart into the corner. A very on-the-edge approach to driving an F1 car, if we can say so. Regardless, given the right car capable of giving the driver what he asks for, both Verstappen and Hamilton can tear up the asphalt.

Which other drivers had similar driving styles to Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton?

Starting off with Max Verstappen, the first two drivers that come to mind when talking about similar driving styles are Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher. While Schumacher had the same delicate brake feel as Hamilton, he liked a car that could just turn right into the corner. Sebastian Vettel’s style was all about braking late, turning the car into the corner, and accelerating out of the corner. The time that was lost in turning was made up in late braking and quick acceleration out of the corner.

Coming to the Lewis Hamilton Driving Style Academy, Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez are two great examples from the current grid. Checo is known as the tire whisperer for a reason. The Mexican likes a strong rear that doesn’t slide around and hence has superior tire wear. Fernando Alonso, just like Hamilton, likes a car that is understeery. The Spaniard chucks the car into the corner and doesn’t have to worry about the rear end, and is able to manage the front end, making the style work. 

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