Although Max Verstappen is downbeat about his chances of retaining the World title, Lewis Hamilton says while those are the Red Bull driver’s feelings, he is “pretty far ahead” in the standings.
Last time out at Monza, Red Bull recorded their worst two-car points haul of the championship as Verstappen took the chequered flag in sixth place with Sergio Perez P8.
Lewis Hamilton weighs in on Max Verstappen’s “unrealistic” worries
That, coupled with McLaren’s double podium, meant a major points swing in McLaren’s favour that allowed him to narrow the gap to Red Bull to just eight points in the Constructors’ Championship.
Lewis Hamilton weighs in on Max Verstappen’s F1 2024 title chances
Verstappen’s lead in the Drivers’ also took a knock with Lando Norris taking eight points off him to reduce the World Champion’s advantage to 62 points – a total of 238 points still in play.
“At the moment, both championships are unrealistic,” a downbeat Verstappen told the media including PlanetF1.com after the race.
It’s a sentiment he echoed in the build-up to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, saying: “If we perform like Monza, it’s not realistic.
“So we definitely need to be better than what we have been delivering lately. We know that,” he said.
“If we can find a better balance with the car, then actually we’ll be more competitive. But if more competitive is enough, I don’t know.”
The Dutchman’s 2021 title rival Hamilton was asked about Verstappen’s unrealistic claim, and replied: “He said it’s unrealistic for him to get one of the two titles?
“I mean, that’s his opinion, obviously, what he’s feeling in that moment, but he’s pretty far ahead.”
One though, could argue that after Verstappen’s 19 wins last season and only seven this season, it’s no wonder the Red Bull driver isn’t feeling at all confident.
He’s currently on his longest winless streak since 2020 with the last six P1s going the way of Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari.
Hamilton is loving it, saying: “It’s amazing. This is how it should be. I think that’s ultimately probably the goal when they set the rules, but it never works out.
“So it’s great that we’re finally in that phase when McLaren have had a great rise, you see the Ferrari win in the last race, and us before that.
“Hopefully these next eight races, hopefully you’ll see something more like that, and it stays consistent, I hope.”
