Ecclestone claims Hamilton is no longer the best driver now
Jul.1 - Lewis Hamilton is no longer clearly the best driver in Formula 1.
That is the view of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who thinks Red Bull's Max Verstappen has the ability and the car to win the title in 2021.
"He is talented, fast, but he also needs a bit of luck," the 90-year-old told Sport Bild.
As for whether the 23-year-old Dutchman is now as good as seven time world champion Hamilton, Verstappen's father Jos is sure.
"Lewis and Max are at eye level," he told Sport1.
"It's difficult to compare because they're in different cars, but they are the two best drivers in Formula 1.
"Lewis has a lot of experience, but Max has been there a long time now - he has worked with his engineer for six years," Verstappen snr added.
"I'm very happy with how things are going for him. I see him having fun, doing a great job, and he's with the best team. I'm proud of that.
"Everything is going in the right direction," said the Dutchman.
Ecclestone doesn't disagree with Jos Verstappen, but he also thinks there are other drivers who theoretically could take on Hamilton now.
When asked if Hamilton is still clearly the best in Formula 1, the sport's former CEO answered: "No, I don't think he is at the moment.
"The top six drivers can beat him if they have the right car. But you can't write Lewis off in any circumstances."
✅ Check out more posts with related topics:
Everytime I see hyped reactions like this, I'm gonna bring up the 2020 WET Turkish GP. Nothing like a wet track as the great equalizer to separate the Greats from mere mortals. Which is the reason Hammer keeps hoping for rain. A wet race requires more finesse and experience with throttle control, brake bias adjustment and natural talent! Made even more difficult with a more powerful engine which makes it easier to spin up the tyres. So nothing to do with who has the stronger car in wet conditions. How did Max perform in that race again?! Lol. By the way, how did LORD Lewis start this year again?!
The kid is good, best of the rest so far, but not superior.
Jaxman, your exorbitant taxi fares aside, it's time for a reality check. Your guy is/was one of the 8-10 best racers to ever play the game, but there are now several young lions able to toast his buns in an even fight. Let go, my friend, let go. I had him down to do his 8/100 this season, now I wonder if he will ever get the eighth.
BTW, your 'if you win in the rain, you'll win anywhere' comment is widespread, but pure balderdash. Long story and I won't bore you with it, but my opinion is from personal experience, not conjecture.
And just for good measure. Don't take my word for it. Here's the expert view of the most successful technical director in the modern era; who happens to agree with the Jaxter. I'll take his word over old Bernie any day.
https://www.racefans.net/2021/01/29/hamiltons-turkish-gp-masterpiece-shows-his-success-isnt-just-down-the-car-brawn/
Oh Brain smh. You know it's clear you and your sidekick struggle with comprehension, therefore constantly misunderstand or misconstrue things I state. Case in point, you thought I was calling you arrogant when I said you have issues with arrogance. It meant you despise perceived arrogant and egotistical drivers you muppet of a mouse Lol. Context!!! Now here again, you come with this "win in the wet win anywhere nonsense" and I alluded to no such thing. Jenson Button was a master of wet conditions and tyre management yet no one in their right mind would class him as a Legend. My point is that Hammer's performance that day coupled with all his record breaking achievements demonstrates why he's superior to the rest. It's not just any one performance, it's the versatility and consistency of his abilities that make him the most complete racer; hence, a legend!
Is this clear Mouseketeer? Lol
Hammy is no longer the guy. everyone knows that. Everyones saying its lewis not the car, and now Max is beating lewis its the car lol. we all know what happened when a guy at the bottom of the field destroyed Bottas. If Russel joins merchants lets see how good Hammy really is against him. for me Prost VS Senna that's what I want to see, but the dominant mere had no competition for the last 7 years .
Normally Taxi drivers are consistent but you Jax take the biscuit , not only do you frequently talk complete bollocks but when challenged , you change tack and say ah no i didn't mean that, i meant something completely different ., a good wordsmith but a terrible liar Jax, i have lost faith in your comments .Tell me Jax do you follow f1 and your legend on other forums or just here ?
I honestly cant think of another present or past f1 driver that is as disliked as LH, the forums are full of it , not his skill, not his achievements, or his goatness, all irrelevant, his memory for a lot of fans will be , yeah he won a lot but he had the best car ,( rightly or wrongly )BUT he was a bit of a dick ......
And its not his driving skill we are knocking , cant fault that , its everything else, not what a multi world champ wants be be remembered for id imagine, put it this way , when hes gone the forums will be a lot quieter, hence why they are milking him for all hes worth
Jax i guess what i'm saying is , even if a guys not winning races , his personality counts , Lewis could win ten titles, to a lot of f1 fans he'd still be a Dick to many. Brit or no Brit .comparing him to MS , who was very arrogant at times but he had Personality, as for the Legend, it'll never happen, hell just be that black kid who got a lucky break etc etc, and before you jump on the black kid comment , we in Britain have many black world champions that are universally adored
Im perfectly happy to tell you which forums i also use and comment on Jax , but somehow i think you'd like it there even less
So Ror is tired of you, as am I, but please you carry on with your legend/goat talk
We are not pundits though, we are fans of the sport , unless thats another thing you are an expert in , who said MS was my Hero?, make up your mind do we Hate The person or his achievements , ive tried to explain its his personality , but You just fixate on the word Hate? why is that?. I am afraid you are wrong about majority consensus at least on forums , definitely wrong, i offer to prove this and you just dismiss it again why is that ? winning wdc doesn't make you universally loved by fans, ask Nelson Piquet, but he wasn't as devisive as Lewis,
We offer facts , you offer , goat and legend, that just doesnt stand up, but either way , his reign will pass , who then will you cheer for?
And that was an atrocious remark , the Karma insinuation about a very ill person btw, i would say shame on you , but as its you using the word hate what can we expect ....with this type of attitude and comment there is no meaningful discussion to be had
Well my apologies Pinky for assuming that since you and Brain are joined at the hip Schumi was your guy aswell. Vettel perhaps? Which would be funny as he's no different from Schumi.
I highlighted pundits to show the pettiness of fans. Forums are mostly noise from haters. They represent a sliver of the fan base. You think the majority of people that like Lewis are on forums? Forums are by n large places for haters to vent. Should be constructive convos about a race but most degenerate to your type of personal attacks. I'm just one of the few who bother to push back when the true majority just ignores you folks.
What facts do you offer? You mean nonsense like Lewis retiring this year or RedBull has a cheater engine(Brain owns this one) without proof; or that haters flood other forums? Lol. Nice try Pinky. Y'all make Hammer divisive, not him. Bottom line....show him respect. He earned it!
To answer your final question......Max and Gasly!
As I said pointless , well closen deflection and No Apology for you disgusting remark regarding Michael Schumacher .Moderators take note please .
😄 The Moderators Pinky.....seriously son?? Now it seems I touched a nerve Lol. The crying is becoming literal my mousy friend. Lol aw man.
I believe you're referring to....Leopold is it?. Would be interesting to see him chime in.
If you believe its an acceptable comment that you made that's fine
But insinuating that his accident was in fact Karma for the way he drove in f1, then that just shows what type of f1 fan you really are .
Not fine at allsign of a sick mind.esp since he can't defend himself
We saw the Michael win a race every way it could be on. 3 stop, 1 stop, in the rain...every which way a race could be won. He was a great champion. I recall he raced against competitive challengers. I will never forget some of his great duels with Damon Hill. He rates very high in my books. When you look at Fangio's record, he won almost half the races he raced in. That puts him way up there. Senna? Do I need to even talk about how competitive he was? A great champion. Hamilton? Seeing him bring the car in for a win on a flat tyre was big. I just haven't seen enough of those things. He also had a superior car for at least 4 years. I know thats not his fault. But I put those other three guys above him for now. The numbers, records and behaviour mean little to me. ITs all about the driving. And Ham is pretty got but not the GOAT IMHO.
Come on guys, please respect the commenting guidelines and keep it about the topic. We are all F1 fans in the basics aren't we? Don't take yourself to seriously.
Thankyou Leopold for reminding us of the guidelines, im sure that will lessen the derogatory comments .
Does anyone remember when Senna took Prost out on the 1st turn to win the Formula 1 Championship. This is exactly what Hamster did and it worked to his advantage this time, by wrecking Max and taking only a slap on the wrist (10 second penalty). Did Hamster show concern for Max who was in the Hospital, no he was too busy laughing and tossing the Trophy up in the air. Is this the kind of behavior a Champion should display? This goes back to what I have said all along, Hamster is all about himself and he lacks character.
✅ Checkout the latest 50 F1 Fans comments.