Lewis Hamilton said Formula 1’s new cars have delivered “how racing should be” and suggested Max Verstappen’s criticism is down to Red Bull not being competitive anymore.
F1’s new regulations have introduced hybrid engines with a 50-50 spit between combustion and electrical power and a big emphasis on battery management and power boost deployment.
Hamilton and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc put on a box office, wheel-to-wheel fight at the Chinese Grand Prix, but not everyone has been impressed.
Speaking on the back-and-forth battles F1 has seen out in front so far, Verstappen said after the Shanghai race: “It’s terrible, if someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is about. It’s not fun at all. It’s playing Mario Kart. This is not racing. You are boosting past, then you run out of battery the next straight, they boost past you again. For me, it’s just a joke.”
Hamilton said after the China race, where he scored his first grand prix podium for Ferrari, that it was the best racing he can remember.
The seven-time world champion continued to praise the new cars ahead of Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
“I think if you go back to karting, it’s the same thing,” Hamilton said of the new type of battles. “People are going back and forth, back and forth. No-one ever has ever referred to go-karting as yo-yo racing.
“It’s the best form of racing, and Formula 1 has not been the best form of racing in a long, long time. You just couldn’t follow. You finally have a car, out of all the cars that I’ve driven in 20 years, this is the only car that you can actually follow through high speed and not completely lose everything that you have, and you can stay behind.
“We had the DRS before, which I think was a bit of a band-aid for that issue, the fact that you can’t get close enough to the corners. Now we have the power difference, but it’s so small, the power difference each lap. But when you get it ahead, and the cars behind you, they can keep up with you.
“I personally find it much more fun, because that’s the most overtaking and best battle I’ve had in probably maybe since Bahrain years and years ago with Nico [Rosberg]. But that’s how racing should be, it should be back and forth. So I personally like that sort of racing.
“We just need all the rest of the teams to close up so we have more of those battles amongst us, that’s all.”
Verstappen’s headline-grabbing criticisms of the car have been a big talking point of the new season.
The Dutchman is not alone in hating them — reigning world champion Lando Norris and two-time champion Fernando Alonso have also been critical.
Verstappen won four straight drivers titles from 2021 to 2024, with Red Bull winning the constructors’ championship three times, but the team has entered the new regulation cycle off the pace of Mercedes and Hamilton’s Ferrari team.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff previously suggested Verstappen’s criticisms come from the “horror show” the four-time champion is experiencing this year so far.
Hamilton suggested the same.
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Asked why he thinks he could love the cars so much and another driver as accomplished as Verstappen could hate them, he replied: “I don’t have to use the word love. I’m just saying that I’m enjoying racing. Naturally when you have a good car and you’re competitive, it’s nice to be out in front.
“[Max] has had that for the last four or five years. It’s been pretty smooth sailing for him. This is the first year, but I can’t answer that.
“He’s not enjoying it as much. It’s definitely a lot different. I think a lot of drivers are not enjoying it, but I don’t really know. I’m just personally enjoying it. It’s a lighter car. They’re more nimble.
“They are more fun to drive. Do I love the power deployment? Absolutely not. Do I love the [active aerodynamics]? Not particularly, but as a whole I think it’s exciting for the sport in a time where the sport is the highest.
“Visually, brand-wise, it has the most income it’s ever had. The F1 movie has done amazing with an Oscar. It’s just in a really good time where lots of people are watching and we’re actually having some battles as opposed to the sessions where you’re just watching cars going around each time.
“Everyone’s going to have an opinion every time you change a car. Some people don’t like it, you can’t please everybody. If our car all of a sudden turns to a nightmare to drive, maybe it won’t be as enjoyable, but the fact is we’re having a good fight with the chance to fight for wins. That’s always a part of it.”
