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Any hopes of a possible Lewis Hamilton title challenge in 2024 were dismissed by Red Bull simulator driver Jake Dennis. Dennis is the reigning Formula E champion and a simulator driver for the Austrian team. He has already tested the team's 2024 F1 challenger in the simulator and has inside knowledge of what the car would look like this year.
The 2023 F1 season saw Red Bull dominate the sport, unlike any team in the past. It won almost all the races last year bar one in Singapore. Hamilton had next to no chance of fighting for the title with Mercedes as the British driver just didn't have the car under him.
The 2024 F1 season is supposed to be better as Mercedes would have a better idea of the regulations. Many would be hoping against another season of Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominance and instead see Hamilton challenge for the title.
However, Dennis has poured cold water on all such expectations and told Mirror Sport that the chances of Red Bull and Verstappen continuing their dominance are very high.
"We've got an extremely fast race car again at the Red Bull team. I would expect us to become champions again, unless someone like Ferrari or Mercedes somehow manages to find about a second [per lap] overnight. I think it's going to be quite a dull season in Formula 1 with Max probably dominating. I'd be lying if I said we didn't switch our attention to the 2024 car quite quickly. We didn't do any development on the 2023 car after Singapore," he said.
The lack of a repeat of a Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen title fight moves fans toward Formula E
The reigning Formula E champion felt that such dominance from Max Verstappen, where we don't see a repeat of the iconic title battle with Lewis Hamilton in 2021, is what moves fans away from Formula 1 to Formula E, a series that is far more unpredictable and competitive.
"It's so dominant from Max right now, it really brings new viewers to Formula E. It brings our championship alive because we just don't have that - we have a championship which is extremely difficult and close," Jake Dennis said.
"We have 20 cars within two or three seconds on certain tracks, so it's a lot more exciting and a lot more enjoyable for the fans, I would say. We just need to branch out there to a bigger audience for Formula E and get plenty of exposure, which is what is needed for the championship to take it to the next level," he added.
This revelation would prove to be disheartening for Lewis Hamilton fans as the Mercedes driver does not have that many years left in the sport.
