Who can stop dominator Max Verstappen and end the Red Bull star’s title streak in the 2024 Formula 1 season? A former Dutch F1 driver only sees one driver who could stand up to Verstappen – under certain conditions.
“If you look at the pure qualities of the current drivers, I think that Lewis Hamilton is the only one who can come close to Verstappen,” wrote Christijan Albers in his column for the Telegraaf.
According to the 44-year-old Dutchman, who drove in Formula 1 from 2005 to 2007, he is primarily referring to the ability to perform consistently during a race and set stable lap times.
Just like Verstappen, “Hamilton is someone who can manage his tires wonderfully. Assessing certain situations, feeling the rubber – when it comes to that, they are on their own.”
As a “neutral observer,” he hopes that Mercedes will come back with a better car in 2024, said Albers. Only then could Hamilton pose a serious challenge to Verstappen. In the previous season, the Silver Arrows were mostly hopelessly behind the Red Bull drivers.
Formula 1: Max Verstappen in a dimension of his own
The 26-year-old Verstappen broke Hamilton’s title streak in 2021 and started his own, racing to his third World Cup crown last year.
Verstappen dominated the premier motorsport class in an unprecedented way. In 22 Grands Prix, he was on the podium 21 times and at the top 19 times.
With ten wins in a row, he improved Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine wins in a row from 2013.
Verstappen’s Grand Prix account now stands at 54 victories, in the all-time best list only the record world champions Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher rank ahead of him, and he has already surpassed the four-time champions Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51).
The Formula 1 dominator’s contract with Red Bull runs until the end of 2028.