Lewis Hamilton: Martin Brundle expecting close battle between Mercedes driver and 'upcoming talent'

Lewis Hamilton

Brundle expecting close battle between Hamilton and 'upcoming talent'

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc will be gunning for Lewis

Martin Macdonald

Sunday 9 February 2020 14:06

Martin Brundle reckons the 2020 F1 season will provide us with a completely new title dynamic as world champion Lewis Hamilton is chased by young superstars Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

Due to the widespread regulation changes occurring in 2021, the regulations for 2020 have remained largely the same as 2019, meaning that teams have had the opportunity to build upon last season without worrying about new parts or rules to be adhered to.

In 2019, Verstappen had the best season of his career while Leclerc impressed in his maiden campaign with Ferrari. Brundle thinks these two will present the main challengers to Hamilton, who is going for a seventh championship which would tie the record held by Michael Schumacher.

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"Almost nothing has changed for the coming season, which means that the cars will all be closer together," Brundle explained to AutoMotoSport.de.

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"Next season we will also see the duel between the world champion and the young drivers. We have never seen the duel between the upcoming talent and the world champion.

“We will see that game next season, namely between Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton."

Verstappen and Leclerc are two of several current drivers on the grid, such as Alex Albon, George Russell, and Lando Norris, who have hit the ground running in F1 since making the step up from Formula 2 and below.

Because of this, Brundle admits to casting a more meaningful eye on the junior series’ to see who the next superstar is going to be.

"Because of the younger drivers, I also started to look more at the junior classes of F1 (F2, F3). In these classes, you can see that the drivers are enormously confident and catch up in places where it is actually not possible,” he said.

“That way of driving is also reflected in the current young group of drivers. You can see that they are confident, in the car and in front of the camera.”