EXCLUSIVE: F1 champ names team-mate who had 'negative effect' on Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, 2023, Social — Photo: © IMAGO

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EXCLUSIVE: F1 champ names team-mate who had 'negative effect' on Hamilton

How complacency and anger make the difference between Verstappen and Hamilton

Jim Kimberley

Tuesday 9 April 2024 20:27

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There's no questioning that Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are some of the sport's greats.

For another world champion, there's a notable difference between the two in how they tackle the sport while on the top.

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Speaking exclusively to GPFans, the 1997 title winner Jacques Villeneuve detailed why it's not the younger years that are enabling Verstappen's near-continuous march to victory.

Hamilton needs pushing

When asked if Hamilton's age is why the seven-time champion is heading to Ferrari in 2025, Villeneuve didn't believe so.

"It's not the age," said Villeneuve. "It's the years of easygoing.

"If you don't have a teammate who pushes you, who doesn't remind you that every day is a new day where you have to reinvent yourself, then you become complacent. That happens to every champion.

"That's why Verstappen has been so impressive because he doesn't get complacent, no matter how easy he wins.

"He knows there's always someone behind ready to eat you alive and to steal your spot."

Verstappen gets 'angry'

Villeneuve looked to Verstappen's third title as an example of the high level the three-time champion operates and why it differs from Hamilton's time-winning titles.

"Even in the last race [of 2023], after having won almost every race of the season, the championship by miles...

"If he's a tenth off, he still gets angry as if it was the first race of the season, and that's what keeps him up there.

"Lewis had too many years with Valtteri Bottas. Not all of them were easy, but those easy years at the end of Mercedes had a negative effect. Going to Ferrari will maybe rekindle the victorious Lewis that we've seen."