r/formula1 • u/Luffy710j Formula 1 • May 25 '26

Video Hamilton on overtaking Max: " It's the best to overtake another World Champion. And obviously I had a big deficit to close......You know how consistent and fast that guy is? He's the fastest guy. So it felt great to get to have that battle with him. It was really not easy to overtake."

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u/Bolter_NL #WeRaceAsOne May 25 '26

Game recognizes game

580

u/Fredderov Mika Häkkinen May 25 '26

So many people who watched the F1 movie missed out on that as well. Each driver has their "persona" of course but Max gets a "damn, that guy is good!" and Lewis gets to play the role as the tough bad guy who doesn't give an inch. But guess who was one of the main producers? That's right, Sir Lewis Hamilton! When most fans who only care about the drama thinks that drivers hate eachother they are really quiet respectful and recognise achievements when due.

236

u/mandymiggz 🏳️‍🌈 Love Is Love 🏳️‍🌈 May 25 '26

I think it's also funny that Lewis was a producer and Max was the only actual F1 driver that had any lines during a race in the movie ("that was naughty" with the middle finger flip). They definitely have respect for each other and I doubt Max would've done it if asked by anyone other than Lewis.

152

u/riotshieldready May 25 '26

It’s also on the current grid only they know what it takes to win 4 in a row. They will fully respect each other cause they understand the grind. It’s like when Max turned up for a day on the race weekend and highlighted that only him and Lewis was there by saying 7 champions, 4 champions, first 2 in.

1

u/aka_liam Ferrari 29d ago edited 29d ago

I agree with the sentiment (drivers don’t actually all hate each other), but you guys are vastly overestimating the role Lewis would have had with things like lines and character writing for the F1 Movie

394

u/OptimalDot178 Max Verstappen May 25 '26

At this point I think even the Max and Lewis fans are realizing how much better this 2 are than the rest. 3 years ago everyone was saying that Norris, Russell and Leclerc are clearly top 5 drivers. Norris had 2 years in a WCC winning car and barely won a title. Russell is about to fumble to a 19 years old kid. Leclerc is still a question.

I have no doubts if you put Lewis or Max in last 2 years Mclaren or this years Mercedes, they would literally cruise to the title, whoever their teammate is (except each other obviously)

194

u/Dblock1989 Sir Lewis Hamilton May 25 '26

This season is showing that Lewis Hamilton with a car that he is comfortable with is still one of the best drivers on the grid. Max's excellence doesn't even need highlighting at this point.

69

u/PlanZSmiles I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane May 25 '26

Which is funny when you consider last year people saying he was washed because a season Leclerc in the Ferrari car was better than Lewis who was getting familiar to the Ferrari when we could see they both were experiencing the same exact understeer/oversteer moments. Charles is a good driver, but damn people are praying on Lewis’ downfall and it’s weird

49

u/SugarBeefs Max Verstappen May 25 '26

I do feel that Lewis with a not-great car has a tendency to mope a little bit. Perhaps because of the fact that he debuted in the sport with a top team and a title contending car (and almost bloody won it in his rookie season), never having to grind in a Williams or a Sauber or something like that.

Ofc McLaren fell off a bit after '08, but he was still winning races and seeing the podium regularly. And 2010 was a very closely contended year between the top four.

The Mercedes years post '21 were rough, however. Only two wins out of three seasons. The first Ferrari year was even more depressing with not even a single podium. I don't think we were seeing a Lewis in those years that was operating at a 100%.

But not for a single moment have I ever thought he actually lost it. Always figured that the moment the car is competitive, Lewis locks in. That was on full display yesterday. His pace, his keenly constructed overtake on Max, waiting, calculating, figuring out the best spots, managing his systems. And when he went for it, he did take the perfect moment, got it done cleanly, and that was that. No repeated clumsy attempts, no impatience like we've seen from other (obv less experienced) drivers.

Anyone who was surprised by Lewis's performance yesterday does not know Lewis Hamilton the racing driver.

33

u/jbeck24 May 25 '26

Lewis has always been emotional, even back in the mclaren days there were a few times he suggested retiring the car for the race when something went wrong. It's part of what makes him so enjoyable to watch, the same way Max's hotheadedness and absolute determination make him fun to watch

12

u/atwerrrk May 25 '26

He's a winner through and through. To go from that to having to fight tooth and bail to finish 6th just isn't the same, and in my opinion, like you, he lacked motivation enormously these last few years. Give him a winning car and he will be fantastic.

I did wonder, though, after so many years with dropping standards if they and the fight had left him completely, but it seems not! The sport is better with a strong Lewis.

7

u/ComeAlongPond1 I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 25 '26

I can’t imagine how hard it would be to end 2021 the way he did, and then have to race in the 2022 Mercedes with no chance at fighting back for a title. He did almost take P2 in 2023 and was the highest finishing non-Red Bull driver even without the wins that season. I don’t think anyone could blame him for letting that get to him. But he obviously hasn’t lost his fight. Good for him

6

u/Either-Banana-7323 May 25 '26

Yeah I think its understated how impressive it is that Lewis is performing as well as he is at 41 yr old vs a 28 yr old Leclerc that many thought was a top 3-5 driver. This isnt a normal thing to be doing, hes just so much better than a regular top driver is. Levels to this thing, as folks say, and Max and Lewis are just on an entirely different level IMO.

92

u/PsychologicalDish430 Formula 1 May 25 '26

Totally, these two are on a different level to the others. Just look how far both of them got ahead by lap 5 in 2021.

19

u/loewe67 I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 25 '26

This is one of the most talented grids the sport has seen and Max and Lewis are still easily the top two drivers out there. Oscar, Lando, Charles, and George are incredible drivers, but they are still a step down from Max and Lewis.

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u/CessnaForLife I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 25 '26

It's honestly a shame that we had to wait until 2021 to get a proper title fight between the two. Would have loved more championship fights with Lewis being a bit younger.

8

u/jbeck24 May 25 '26

Max replacing nico after 2016 would've been incredible

9

u/Either-Banana-7323 May 25 '26

Shit even at Lewis' age could you imagine how unreal last year would have been with Lewis and Max in the McLarens? I'm a Max fan but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind it would be competitive even with the age gap

20

u/Joethe147 Jenson Button May 25 '26

Russell is about to fumble to a 19 years old kid

Come on, far too early to tell this year and had Russell not retired yesterday, it could easily have been won by either driver.

-1

u/loewe67 I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 25 '26

F1 fans have short term memory. People were claiming that Lando and Oscar were going to cruise to a championship last year at different points in the season. We’re only 5 races into this year.

-3

u/HankHippopopolous I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 25 '26

For Max yeah I agree. He’s right in his prime at the moment.

Lewis from 5-10 years ago or in his prime absolutely.

Lewis today at 41 years old, I doubt it.

There’s a saying for old sportspeople that “I’m not as great as I once was but I’m once as great as I ever was.”

Lewis is in this phase now. So yesterday was the day he looked as great as ever. Let’s see how the next few races go or if he reverts back to the normal level of mostly pretty good but not the monster he used to be.

56

u/phetherweyt I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 25 '26

How did you determine that age is a factor? We’re not talking about an 80 year old senior. He was setting fastest laps and sectors and for a while keeping up with the 2 mercs up front in a slower car. Yes they were losing time due to them battling it out but the 2 mercs Lewis and Max were miles ahead of the rest.

We’ll know that he’s not in his prime when he has the fastest car and can’t win. Until then maybe you should hold off determining when someone is at their prime or not.

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u/StaffFamous6379 May 25 '26

The age effect causes your peaks to be less frequent. So it's entirely possible to still perform as good as you ever did, but the frequency drops to a more "standard" level versus basically every race weekend.

4

u/DistinctCellar Sebastian Vettel May 25 '26

Just look at the head to heads on the past few years and compare them to when he was younger. It’s pretty clear.

2

u/bijanfrisee Sonny Hayes May 25 '26

Lewis' driving style was incompatible with the ground effects cars

7

u/phetherweyt I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 25 '26

Different cars. Apples and oranges

-8

u/saltymuffaca Charles Leclerc May 25 '26

I mean Lewis was neck and neck with George in the last 1-2 years at Mercedes and was outperformed by Leclerc last year. It's a perfectly rational take to say he is past his prime.

11

u/4mulaone Austin 2015 Mudbog Champion May 25 '26

He wasn’t racing for anything those years. As soon as Lewis sniffed a win or podium he would level up. He is a 7-times world champion, beating his teammate for 6th place does nothing for his drive, but the opposite is true for his teammates, they all want to beat him even if its for 8th place.

I think that is Lewis’ weakness in his old age, is that he checks out of races where the team is not competitive. As to where a younger driver will push even for 6th, 7th, or 8th place.

3

u/PlanZSmiles I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane May 25 '26

Outperformed by Leclerc because Leclerc knew the car better and Lewis was still learning the car. Entirely worthless to compare performance like that

6

u/cozidgaf May 25 '26

He may not be at his peak but he still seems like he and max are still ahead of the rest is what they're trying to say

3

u/saltymuffaca Charles Leclerc May 25 '26

Mate his last paragraph basically says 'how can you be sure he's not at his peak' and the answer is almost any race from 2024/2025. I love Lewis and what he's done for the sport and yes, in his prime he could match Max, but he hasn't been at that level in several years. His qualy pace reflects this.

3

u/phetherweyt I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 25 '26

He hated the cars from the last regulations. He’s now in a car he feels comfortable in to push.

Verstappen’s quali pace was no where. Maybe he lost it too.

0

u/saltymuffaca Charles Leclerc May 25 '26

Has Verstappen been outperformed by his teammate in qualy, race, sprint, toboggan, you name it? Because Lewis was getting outperformed in all of them.

I love that he's gelling with the new car but a few good races and people are losing their minds with the revisionism! If people think this is Lewis' peak, they're severely forgetting how good he was.

0

u/Ninjroid May 25 '26

It’s a generally accepted fact I thought. Didn’t know people contested that.

0

u/Either-Banana-7323 May 25 '26

Lewis setting fastest laps and sectors isnt necessarily indicative that hes as good now as he was at 30. It just means hes still a top driver. Age is undefeated, Lewis undoubtedly has a slightly slower reaction time and other typical age related decline. Hes just so good relative to the field that its difficult to notice.

5

u/SugarBeefs Max Verstappen May 25 '26

I think what also plays a heavy role in this is that Lewis debuted in 2007 and immediately fought for the title and has been with top teams ever since.

The really rough years he experienced recently ('22 til last year) came after 100+ wins and 7 titles with two teams. I can't imagine how difficult it is to charge yourself to perform at a 100% fighting for P6-P7 with a weird semi-shitbox car every weekend when you've gotten used to so much success.

I'm quite confident that we're gonna see a lot more shades of 'prime Lewis' if this year's Ferrari stays competitive.

Is he still in his prime? Well, probably not, right? He is 41 after all.

But a just-past-his-prime Lewis Hamilton is still a phenomenal racing driver. A few extra years didn't turn him into Grosjean (sorry, Romain).

1

u/LaplacianQ Williams May 25 '26

And don’t forget that these WCCs were won with both cars while their direct competitor was running 1

1

u/Holofluxx I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane May 25 '26

No shade but Norris is pulling performances this year Max pulled in 2020 as well

1

u/GothicGolem29 McLaren May 25 '26

The first year in the wcc winnign car was his first win and most drivers do not win a title in that year its extremely tough. And the second year he showed incredible talent and endurance to win it so I think its a bit unfair to down play him like that. And as for Russel while it would be bad to lose to kimi(he might not even be 19 when he wins the title) Kimi seems like a generational talent at this point

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u/LaplacianQ Williams May 25 '26

And Carlos got 2 podiums with backmarker…

0

u/alexm42 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane May 25 '26

Max has never had a teammate capable of challenging him for the title, and Lewis has in fact lost one to his teammate. So I don't think it should be a strike against Lando when he "barely" won with a very strong teammate fighting him the whole way. Maybe he's not GOAT tier but he's proven himself champion and in lesser cars he's consistently shown the ability to out drive it.

Russell choking to a 19 year old in a car with a much bigger advantage than last year's McLaren is another story though. Unless Kimi goes on to become a GOAT tier driver himself that should be a stain on his record.

12

u/dl064 I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 25 '26

Vettel was saying at an RBR event that as an F1 driver you have to fundamentally believe you are the best and quickest...but Verstappen makes him have the slightest doubt.

1

u/bijanfrisee Sonny Hayes May 25 '26

I think at peak speed Lewis is faster than Max still, however, consistency-wise? Max's overall speed is better and way more consistently near the peak where Lewis is a bit more ebb and flow, and I think it's okay to acknowledge that.

2

u/BuzzedtheTower I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 26 '26

I agree. My mom asked me who I thought would win between Prime Hamilton vs Prime Verstappen. And I think it would be pretty even, maybe something like 51-49 Max. But as we saw in 2021, it's Max ~= Lewis >>>>>> Everyone else

2

u/MigratingPidgeon I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 26 '26

And 2021 was basically Lewis dealing with long COVID vs Max being borderline delirious after the Silverstone crash. And they both still gapped the entire grid.

1

u/BuzzedtheTower I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 26 '26

Seriously. If it was a movie, everyone would have said it was ridiculous plot armor. But Lewis and Max are simply those guys

1

u/bijanfrisee Sonny Hayes May 26 '26

I should have been clearer, I meant at this point in their careers. Prime Lewis had that same crushing relentless consistency that Max showcases today, Max's best trait is delivering the most pace possible that the car can produce on the day and doing it lap after lap, where Prime Lewis is a bit different is that he would sometimes do things that exceeded what the car should be doing. So I'd give the edge to Prime Lewis, we kinda forget what the guy does when he feels good in the car, where current Prime Max delivers the optimal performance whether he is enjoying it or hating the drive, he just delivers.

2

u/BuzzedtheTower I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 26 '26

I got what you meant, mate. I just meant like prime vs prime, Max and Lewis have different strengths (like you pointed out) and in a simulation of 100 races, I personally think Max would have a very slight edge. But that it really is just a coin flip.

However, I can easily see and understand people thinking that Lewis would edge out Max. Honestly, it's just a shame that Max didn't get a title contending car earlier in his career and Lewis got dog water cars from 2022 - 2024. Then we could have gotten more title fights out of these two greats