Ayrton Senna had a 'very Lewis Hamilton-like' driving style, but at a 'higher level', opines veteran F1 journo

Veteran F1 journalist Peter Windsor recently claimed Ayrton Senna had a Lewis Hamilton-like driving style but said the Brazilian driver was at a 'higher level'.

Windsor explained that Senna had a Hamilton-like linear style of driving but was better than the seven-time world champion in certain areas.

Three-time world champion Ayrton Senna is a legend of the sport, just like Mercedes driver Hamilton. However, according to Peter Windsor, while the two share a similar driving style, Senna's brilliance was in his incredible precision on track. Senna was able to drive within inches of the surrounding track boundaries without fear.

As quoted by SilverArrows.net, Peter Windsor said of Lewis Hamilton and Ayrton Senna:

"I think Ayrton was fairly linear actually in the way he drove, which was very Lewis-like, but his corner entries weren’t as early as Alain Prost’s to my eye. And Ayrton always had that business of the throttle blipping where he just wanted to feel that moment to get the power on, whereas Lewis and Michael never had to do that in order to find that moment. So you may think, what made Ayrton so great? Well, what made Ayrton so great was his incredible precision."

"For sure Lewis, for sure Michael, for sure Nigel Mansell, for sure Alain Prost, Niki Lauda all had phenomenal judgment. But I think Ayrton possibly took that to a higher level."

Lewis Hamilton understands why he is Max Verstappen's "target"

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton claims he is Max Verstappen's 'target' due to the success the Briton has enjoyed since 2014. The 2021 championship rivals were miles apart for the majority of the 2022 season but collided at this year's F1 Brazilian GP.

Hamilton is sympathetic towards Verstappen's mentality, claiming he had a similar mindset when he entered Formula 1 back in 2007. The Briton had the worst season of his career since his debut last year, finishing without a single win.

Max Verstappen, on the other hand, had his most successful season yet, rewriting the record books with 15 wins in 2022.

Lewis Hamilton explained Max Verstappen's 'target' mentality, saying:

"Then also just look back at the way those individuals behave on track around me [and it] kind of shows that it is a little bit different to others. I can't explain fully exactly why [that is], but it is in part for sure to do with the time I've had in [in F1] and the success I've had."

Hamilton continued:

"I know because I remember when I got into F1 [in 2007], that the target was someone else who had had the success and my goal was to challenge them. You almost wanted to show how tough you were, you always wanted to show how good you were compared to that person."

It will be interesting to see whether Mercedes can build a car strong enough for Hamilton to take the fight to Verstappen once again in 2023.