Hamilton or Verstappen: former F1 driver shows no hesitation in his pick

14:01, 07 Jan

5 Comments

byTobia Elia

David Coulthard was faced with the difficult task of choosing between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

“You know whether he’s happy, you know whether he’s sad, so I go with Verstappen”

- David Coulthard

Appearing on the Red Flags Podcast, the former British driver — now a Red Bull ambassador — ultimately opted for the four-time world champion, citing the following reasons: “I think that every generation should be better. That’s what evolution is. I think that there’s a crossover of generations there, and Hamilton has been incredible.

“But there’s also a little bit of a disconnect in some ways, where… and this whole thing is a personal opinion, I find Max very grounded. It’s just Max, he’s present, and we know when he’s doing his interviews and press conferences, if he’s not happy, he says it, and he’s not shy to say that. He owns his beliefs.

“You know whether he’s happy, you know whether he’s sad, so I go with Verstappen. They’re very difficult to separate the two of them, in terms of Hamilton at his peak.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

“I’m not sure that he is at his peak anymore. Controversial for a loser like me to dare to say that, but it just feels the greats match or beat their teammates, and, in the last couple of years, if I’m not mistaken, he didn’t do that with George, and it doesn’t feel like he’s done that with Charles.”

Coulthard believes Hamilton has now moved past his peak, while Verstappen remains very much in a growth phase, despite already reaching a high level of both driving and personal maturity.

“If we put opinions to one side and we just use what the two things that are ultimately important in F1, the stopwatch and the chequered flag, I think the outright speed is maybe not there with Lewis anymore, but you’ve got to give him so much respect. With Max, it still feels like he’s developing. It still feels there’s more to come. It still feels like, how far can this guy go?”

'Being Verstappen's teammate is the hardest job in Formula 1 by far'

The Mexican, now on the verge of starting a new chapter in Formula 1 with Cadillac, spent four seasons alongside the Dutchman, coming off badly in the head-to-head battle and ultimately finding himself without a seat for the 2025 season.

Speaking on the Cracks Podcast, Perez admitted: “Being Max’s team-mate is already very difficult, but being his team-mate at Red Bull is the worst job in Formula 1 — by far.”

Read the full story here.

GPblog's latest F1 Paddock Update

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.