Hamilton and Leclerc respond as duo asked if F1 is in ‘Verstappen era’

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are determined to prevent Formula One slipping into a ‘Max Verstappen era’ with the Dutchman currently unstoppable in the Drivers’ Championship. Verstappen secured his second successive world title earlier this month, and has since taken his 2022 tally to 13 wins. One more would make him the most dominant driver ever in a single season, with 13 currently the record shared by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher.

And given the Dutchman’s form of late, few would bet against him winning one or more of the final three Grands Prix in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Verstappen’s back-to-back titles mean at the age of 24 he already he’s already just one shy of matching legends like Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda.

With Lewis Hamilton winning six of seven between 2014 and 2020 and Sebastian Vettel winning four in a row between 2010 and 2013, there is talk that Verstappen will now enjoy a period of domination. But Mercedes’ Hamilton, who missed out on the 2021 crown by the narrowest of margins, and Leclerc whose fight with Ferrari this year has been undone by team and individual mistakes want to ensure that is not the case.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton said when asked if F1 is now into the ‘Verstappen era’, per Motorsport Week: “It is too early to say. If we get into next year and they’re dominating again, then yes. But the Ferraris have been quicker than them throughout qualifying.

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“I think they’ve every single lap probably had better performance on the majority of a lot of the season. Now, all they need to do is pick up their race pace, and they’ll be right with them. I think we’ve got a much, much bigger step and steeper hill to climb, but hopefully not impossible.”

While Leclerc, who led Verstappen by 46 points back in April, said: “I will do everything for it (Verstappen’s domination) to not happen and we are working as a team for it to not happen obviously. I think it is very clear for us where we need to improve.

“Over one lap, we are really strong and I think we are on the same level as Red Bull; over the course of a race, then we are struggling with tyres. So we are putting our effort into that and I hope that we’ll see the result as soon as next year.

“Looking back at the season, there’s been not only tyre degradation but there has been mistakes, strategy, communication and tyre management is one of those things. And, again, we are trying to use these last races in the best way possible in order to challenge Max and Red Bull for the championship next year.

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“But I’m confident we can do that because I know how hard we are working and I’m confident that we are working in the right direction.” Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, said on Sky Sports this week: “Red Bull is the dominant force at the moment in the same way Mercedes was for all these years.

“Securing the Constructors’ Championship so early on, having such a dominant team in every area at the moment. They have the car, they have the best driver in F1 at the moment, they have the strategy – always nailing it at the right moment. It is all coming together in an incredible way. The engine seems to be awesome too.

“It is a period now where it will be so difficult for any team to come close in the next year because they have such momentum. It will be really tough for Mercedes or Ferrari to get close. For Mercedes, the Achilles heel is the straight-line pace. My goodness are they slow. I hope they find the secret to unlock some pace down the straight.”