Lewis Hamilton believes that Christian Horner is running out of ways to congratulate Max Verstappen over the team radio after victories and the novelty of finishing on the top step of the podium may be starting to wear off for the Red Bull crew.
Verstappen has broken almost every single-season record in the book in 2023, beating his own personal tally with his 18th Grand Prix victory of the campaign in Las Vegas last weekend. He now heads into the finale in Abu Dhabi having tasted victory in each of the last six races.
Hamilton, meanwhile, has confirmed a P3 finish in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of his return to the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend. Sergio Perez’s podium finish in Las Vegas ended any lingering hopes that he could pip the Red Bull driver to second place in the standings.
Discussing his own approach and Verstappen’s dominance with Channel 4, Hamilton said: “You approach every year exactly the same. Still prepare myself, still train. If anything, you deep dive a bit more, you try to pay attention to more.
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“I think through adversity and through this experience for two years, I feel like I’ve learned a huge amount as a driver – not necessarily on track but particularly off track in terms of how I engage with everyone and I like to think that’s a real positive.
“And also, when you have so much success, no matter how hard you try it’s hard to keep things in perspective. I even hear it in Christian Horner’s voice when Max wins, he doesn’t know what to say. He’s like: ‘Here we go again. Good job, Max. Good job.’
“The excitement goes, but when you first get that win it’s amazing. But if you have it all the time [it’s not the same]. Of course, I want to win again. I do feel like when we do win again, the feeling is going to be even greater because everyone’s struggled.”
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If Hamilton and Mercedes are to have any chance of putting an end to Verstappen’s dominance in 2024 then they will need to undergo an almost unprecedented period of development over the winter.
The Silver Arrows have struggled in the last two races in Sao Paulo and Las Vegas and now head into the season finale in Abu Dhabi with a slender four-point lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship. Red Bull, meanwhile, have more points than their two nearest rivals combined.
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