Vettel explains the evolution of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen
Sebastian Vettel has seen Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen evolve over the years
Four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel explained how he believes Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have evolved with experience.
Vettel believes that Hamilton has become “much more mature” over the years – displayed perfectly, in his opinion, in Hamilton’s handling of Abu Dhabi 2021. Meanwhile, Verstappen, now knows with experience exactly when to deploy his stunning overtakes, based on his needs at any given moment in a race.
The evolution of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen
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In an appearance on the Beyond the Grid podcast, it was pointed out to Vettel that McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has just completed his third season.
Vettel’s take on the Australian driver led to him to making some comparisons with how he saw two greats of the sport, Hamilton and Verstappen, evolve with experience.
Vettel described Piastri as having a “very mature head on his shoulders”, someone with “a lot of racing intelligence”, and who will improve over time.
He compared the evolution which Piastri will go through with that of Lewis Hamilton.
To highlight his point, Vettel harked back to Hamilton’s handling of his controversial title defeat to Verstappen at Abu Dhabi 2021.
“You look at, which for me, is one of the most incredible moments of emotional intelligence and composure, Lewis in 2021, in that moment where he was not winning the championship,” Vettel began.
“I cannot imagine to be in that position, and I’ve been in many positions when it comes to racing, blah, blah. But to act the way he did, that alone, or that together with everything else he has achieved, says so much about his strength and his character.
“So if you take that Lewis, and the 2007 Lewis, they’re two different drivers.
“Take the 2007 first corner [overtake on Fernando Alonso] in Australia. Unbelievable. That’s the kind of stuff you do when you are young and innocent.
“You can still do it later, but now I think the chances are different that he would take that gamble.
“Because all you see at that age is the opportunity. Now with the experience, or later with the experience, you’ve been through so many turn ones, and you’ve seen so much, that you also understand that the race is much longer than turn one.
“Especially when, take into context, you’re in a very good car. You start in the first three and you have very strong pace. Losing a place here and there, you will be able to come back, and you know that after you’ve had a handful and then more grands prix. You don’t know that in the beginning.”
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Continuing his point, Vettel transitioned to his fellow four-time world champion Verstappen.
“You look at Max in his moves when he was young – or when he was in his first one, two, three, four years – and you look at his behaviour now, he’s much more mature and holding back,” said Vettel.
“He still goes for the impossible gaps and makes them possible, which is great and his skill, but he doesn’t go for all the gaps, because he knows they’re not important right now.
“If he needs to get a move on and overtake, he’s probably one of the best, going through the field quickly, to make a strategy, a race, recover or work.
“But if he knows, ‘I’ve got time, and it doesn’t actually matter’, he’s not panicking anymore.”
In a final point on Hamilton, now a record-equalling seven-time world champion, Vettel concluded: “Lewis, was peaking in year one, but I think he was getting a much more mature driver later on.”
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