F1 News
Sainz on Hamilton's performance: "I agree with Verstappen, but..."
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen said in a recent interview that about 90% of the current F1 field would win with the Mercedes. That was not an attack on Lewis Hamilton, but to show how dominant that car is. He therefore added that others would probably be less dominant than Hamilton.
His opinion is shared by Carlos Sainz, although he is a little more nuanced. "A difficult question, but I agree with Max," the Spaniard is quoted by Motorsport-Total.com. "90% would probably win races and pole positions at Mercedes. But if you put half the field against Hamilton in a Mercedes, 90% wouldn't beat him."
Bottas shows it's not that simple
The living proof of this, of course, is Valtteri Bottas. A more than gifted driver who is absolutely no match for the Brit. The Finn also finished a number of times behind Verstappen in a direct fight, which shows that he would be less dominant than Hamilton in a fight for the title.
"If you take Hamilton out of the competition, everyone in the current field would probably win in a Mercedes. That describes very well what is happening in Formula 1 today, but also that Hamilton is one of the very best - even if he has the best car," Sainz said.