Would Hamilton have beaten Verstappen with McLaren in 2024? 'No difference'
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Martin Brundle believes that even the experienced Lewis Hamilton wouldn't have made "enough of a difference" if he was fighting against Max Verstappen with McLaren in 2024. Lando Norris has all but mathematically lost his World Championship bid against Verstappen with three Grands Prix and one sprint race remaining.
Norris got his first sniff of a World Championship in his still (relatively) short Formula 1 career. The 24-year-old often had the fastest car on the grid since the Miami Grand Prix but regularly struggled to maximise. In recent weeks, he started to slowly eat into Verstappen's lead but the 18 point gain in Brazil pretty much ended his chances. Verstappen can secure a fourth World title next time out in Las Vegas.
Amid a mental battle, Helmut Marko suggested Lewis Hamilton would've won the title if he had the McLaren car in his hands, but former F1 driver turned Sky Sports commentator Brundle disagrees with that remark.
Would Hamilton have beaten Verstappen in 2024 at McLaren?
"I don't agree with [Marko]. It's a potshot. Lewis is, of course, one of the all-time greats. He's currently seventh in the World Championship, two points behind [Mercedes teammate] George Russell. He won brilliantly at Silverstone, and won at Spa because George was disqualified. I don't think I've seen anything that Lewis is doing this year that would've made enough of a difference to have won the World Championship over Max Verstappen at Red Bull," Brundle said in a conversation with Sky Sports.
Hamilton will hope to be in the mix for the World Championship next season. The seven-time World Champion, who will turn 40 during the winter break, will move to Ferrari. The Italian team are currently in the mix for the Constructors' Championship after Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had success in Austin and Mexico, respectively.