Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has named the three drivers he feel could push him the hardest for the title in 2018.
Last year, the Briton faced a straight fight with Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel but his and Mercedes’ superior consistency eventually won the day, with Lewis taking his fourth crown with three races to go in Mexico.
This year, however, hopes are the ever-improving Red Bull and a reborn McLaren – both using Renault engines – can leap into the frame and give the two most successful drivers of their generation more competition.
Unsurprisingly, Hamilton named Vettel as one main rival, admitting he could give the German “more space, albeit not in a negative way”, perhaps referring to their Baku clash, and then named Fernando Alonso as “the toughest driver there is”.
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But his most noticeable focus was on Max Verstappen, stating: “Max’s racecraft is very impressive, he’s doing wonderful things and he is going to grow so much over the next 10 years.”
Known for his hard-line approach, the 33-year-old knows he would need to be wary of the 20-year-old Dutchman too.
“He is more inexperienced than the other guys,” Hamilton cautioned. “Max takes a lot of risks … you have to give [him] more space.
“I don’t think it will be a problem, it’ll just be freaking tough [to beat him]. Wouldn’t that be a fight? Even I’d pay to see that.”
Verstappen, who is slowly establishing himself as the lead driver at Red Bull, also hinted at that self-determination in a recent interview with Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport.
“I always think you have to think of yourself as the best,” he said, considering who he rated as the best in F1. “If you don’t, what’s the point of participating?
“The goal is to be the best and I have to prove it when I get the chance, that’s obviously depended on the car, but hopefully I’m able to prove myself more often.”
Concluding his evaluation, Hamilton added: “We’re the four strongest drivers, I really hope we are all in the fight [for the title].”
