Verstappen: Hamilton will win 2020 championship
Aug.3 - When asked if anyone other than Lewis Hamilton can win the 2020 world championship, Max Verstappen's answer was simple.
"No," said the Red Bull driver, even though he finished within sight of the ultra-dominant Mercedes at Silverstone on Sunday.
But that was only because Hamilton - and his teammate Valtteri Bottas - suffered from late-race Pirelli tyre failures.
"It may have been wear or it may have been debris," said Pirelli boss Mario Isola.
"If necessary we will send the tyres to Milan where we have better analysis tools than here on site."
So with the tyre compounds only getting softer for this weekend's race at the same circuit, Verstappen is expecting that two-stop strategies will be the standard.
"I don't think it will change a lot," said the Red Bull driver.
"It's so big, come on!" Verstappen added, referring to the gap to Mercedes. "Maybe you find a tenth, or one and a half, but it's not enough.
"I'm trying but it's not possible at the moment. If you keep dreaming about those chances, it's not going to happen. We just have to keep working.
"So I'll probably be counting some sheep next to the track."
Indeed, at one point during his lonely run behind the two Mercedes on Sunday, he radioed his engineer to jokingly remind those on the pitwall to stay hydrated.
"I told my engineer to drink. 'Stay hydrated, it's very important around here'," Verstappen smiled. "It was pretty lonely."
So when asked if anything can stop Hamilton from winning his equal-record seventh title in 2020, he answered simply: "No."
Even Hamilton admitted that he would prefer more competition.
"Honestly, look - I'm a through and through racer at heart. This is not the championship I would have hoped for," said the Briton.
"I'd much, much prefer to be having a super-close battle because that's what gets me going.
"Ultimately, every team is given rules and at the end of the day we've just done an exceptional job and you can't fault my team for that. That's not our fault," Hamilton added.
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I have to admit, MV has it right. Sadly for F1 LH will win the championship again. There is simply no other racer in his class. Sorry VB but on Saturday you look close, but Sunday, uh uh. LH is a far better driver, he does what he does FAIRLY. MS was good, his car was good, but ask Damien Hill if he was fair. I would love the nailbiting end to every race, and until Pirelli learn to make a decent Tyre that will be the only way to guarantee it. LOL
LH is heel goed. Ik zou toch graag Max in Mercedes zien om hard te maken dat LH de beste is.
Yes Max we will count the sheep and so we can go to sleep and we will wake up just in time to see Lewis crossing the finish line overlapping everyone else except his teammate Bottas!
Idee: Maak Hamilton en Bottas bij voorbaat winnaar en tweede voor geheel het jaar. Dan kan Mercedes tevreden naar huis en hebben alle F1 fans een mooi jaar!
For F1 fans it's unfortunate that Mercedes is way ahead of the rest of the teams.
Sure Mercedes did a good job but when the sport gets boring it will lose fans/viewers.
It's like Flavio Briatore said: Fans want their gladiator hero's fight wheel to wheel.
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