Lewis Hamilton says the championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is “actually thrilling” for F1 after two years with no title combat.
Verstappen leads Norris by 47 factors with 4 rounds remaining, beginning with this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
It’s the first time the championship has nonetheless been alive heading to Sao Paulo since 2021, when Hamilton and Verstappen had been locked in an intense battle for the title. Hamilton stated Norris has risen to the problem of taking up one of many sport’s hardest opponents.
“I feel it’s actually thrilling for the game, firstly,” Hamilton stated. “The final couple of years have been not essentially so thrilling, clearly, with Max main the best way. That generally occurs.
“However I feel it’s been actually thrilling for the followers to see that it may possibly go proper right down to the wire on the finish of the yr. There’s nonetheless a risk of Lando catching up. I learn someplace I feel he’s received to get 11 factors extra in every race or one thing over these subsequent races, which is certainly potential with the efficiency they’ve.
“Everyone knows Max and his strengths – can’t actually say too many weaknesses, if any. You’ve received clearly Lando, who’s actually risen to the event and he’s been actually main the workforce.”
Regardless of controversial incidents between the 2 drivers within the final two rounds in the US and America, Hamilton insists he trusts each drivers to race one another pretty over the remaining rounds.
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“I haven’t actually spent an excessive amount of time how they’re racing and the way they place the vehicles,” he stated.
“Clearly everybody is aware of what occurred within the final race or the final two races, everybody can have opinion on it. However on the finish of the day, these two are the drivers who know what they’re doing. I’m actually excited to see what occurs over these subsequent races. I’m simply hoping that I can at the least have a superb seat view to observe all of it as they’ll be forward.”
Hamilton is mathematically out of championship competition, the third successive yr he has been unable to combat for his eighth world title with Mercedes. Regardless of leaving for Ferrari on the finish of the season, Hamilton is bound Mercedes might be stronger subsequent yr.
“After all, we’d have all cherished to have been within the combat for the championship,” he stated. “That’s what everybody works in direction of.
“We knew at first of the yr it was going to be powerful, as quickly as we hit the bottom. We didn’t anticipate to even have among the success we had.
“Clearly Silverstone, everybody labored so onerous to get that consequence, which I’m so extremely grateful to the workforce for. However I do know this workforce so nicely and I do know that the consequence and the place we’re on this yr will simply solely gasoline them extra to work tougher to have a greater automobile subsequent yr.”
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