{"id":349705,"date":"2025-12-16T21:27:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T21:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/349705\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T21:27:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T21:27:13","slug":"hamilton-on-his-way-out-verstappen-is-now-the-f1-grids-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/349705\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Hamilton on his way out, Verstappen is now the F1 grid’s target’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Damon Hill<\/a> notes a changing of the guard as according to the former F1<\/a> champion, Lewis Hamilton<\/a> is on his way out of the sport, and Max Verstappen<\/a> now becoming the target for the F1 grid.\u201cYou\u2019ve got Max, who is again, I think considered by nearly everyone as, in the same way that Michael [Schumacher] was, he\u2019s considered to be the target, the guy that is almost unbeatable.”- Damon Hill.\"Verstappen\"\/<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen competing for Red Bull Racing – Photo: Red Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

Speaking on the Drive to Wynn podcast, Hill highlighted the level of the current F1 grid, which holds many world-champions in the making in its ranks who, according to the former Williams driver, will undoubtedly realise their potential, as seven-time champion Hamilton currently faces the exit door.<\/p>\n

\u201cLando\u2019s world champion, Oscar is, as you said is clearly world championship material,” Hill said. “There\u2019s plenty of other drivers in there that are world championship material who will materialise.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got some on the way out. I mean, how long Lewis can keep going, I don\u2019t know, but Fernando is still punching above his age.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got Max, who is again, I think considered by nearly everyone as, in the same way that Michael [Schumacher] was, he\u2019s considered to be the target, the guy that is almost unbeatable,” Hill said likening Verstappen to F1 legend Michael Schumacher.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can be beaten, it\u2019s just a question of getting the [right] circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the quality of the field is really important. You don\u2019t want to win a world championship where everyone says well, your opponent wasn\u2019t worthy,\u201d Hill emphasised.<\/p>\n

Hill warns Verstappen is only getting better<\/p>\n

The 1996 F1 champion had a few more words to say about Verstappen, admiring his ‘millimetre perfect’ precision. \u201cHe\u2019s incredibly precise,” Hill said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve ever watched him do a qualifying lap around somewhere like Suzuka, which is a terrifyingly fast track.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is millimetre perfect, and he can put his car right on the very edge of the track, which you need every single millimetre of track you can get to get the best line, and he does that,” Hill continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis precision is incredible, his eyesight must be extraordinary, considering the amount of time he spends in front of his TV screen on a computer, it\u2019s amazing he\u2019s got any eyesight at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you need that you and he\u2019s only 28 as well as I said, he\u2019s coming into his prime,\u201d Hill concluded with a daunting claim that may put the Dutch driver’s rivals on edge.<\/p>\n

Hill: ‘Sometimes the best driver doesn’t win the title’Hill highlighted Verstappen\u2019s late-season surge, cutting a 104-point deficit to two with consistent performances under pressure, arguing that sometimes the best driver doesn\u2019t win the title despite Lando Norris clinching the championship, in conversation with Sky Sports. Read his full comments here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog’s F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog’s YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Damon Hill notes a changing of the guard as according to the former F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,39259,578,28673,576,577,932,1885,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-349705","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-damon-hill","11":"tag-f1","12":"tag-f1-news","13":"tag-formula-1","14":"tag-formula1","15":"tag-lewis-hamilton","16":"tag-max-verstappen","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}