For the second season in a row, Hamilton has been powerless to prevent Verstappen’s charge towards another world title, with the Dutchman taking 10 wins from 12 races this year to open up a seemingly unassailable 125-point championship lead over Red Bull teammate168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Sergio Perez. 

Hamilton has not had the car to challenge Verstappen’s dominant RB19 amid Mercedes’ ongoing competitive struggles in 2023. The seven-time world champion had to settle with a low-key run to fourth at the Belgian Grand P🌜rix, while his former💞 title rival fought back from a grid penalty to claim his eighth win in a row. 

But Hamilton is confident Verstappen would not 🐷be having things all his own way if he found himself in equal machinery. 

“Do I want to be as fast as them? Of course. Would I like to have a car that’s as fast as them? Of coursဣe,” Hamilton told TV crews including Canal+ after Sunday’s race in Belgium. 

꧋“If I was in Sergio’s car… Max 𝄹would not be having the same time he’s having now.” 

Hamilton came agonisingly close to beating Verstappen during their titanic 2021 title battle which went down to the wire after a fierce season-long duel, before losing the championship in controver꧙sial circumstances at the Abu Dhabi finale. 

Even Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has admitted that Hamilton is one of☂ only two drivers on the current grid who is capable 🍃of beating Verstappen. 

“I𒁏 would perhaps say [Fernando] Alonso or Hamilton,” Marko told DAZN. "But in the same car it would be very difficult.

“Second place behind Max is like a vi🌸ctory. He had a good qualy, a good Sprint race, and had a controlled race with good speed.

“Max Verstappen wi𓃲ns easily no matter what. The whole team, every stop works, no mistakes are made, the whole team is fast and they are d🐲oing an incredible job.”