Former F1 champion Damon Hill had an interesting reaction to Max Verstappen's claim about winning titles against Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, both in 2024 and 2021. The recently crowned champion stated that he would have claimed the titles in the aforementioned years driving Norris and Hamilton's cars from the 2024 and 2021 seasons. To this, Hill had a five-word reaction where he hailed the Dutchman's confidence.
Verstappen claimed the 2024 F1 title after he came home in P5 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. With this, he built up a 63-point cushion over McLaren's Lando Norris, something that the McLaren driver will not be able to make up in the upcoming two race weekends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Following his title triumph, Verstappen was asked if he would have won the title driving Lando Norris' McLaren. To this, he stated that he would have wrapped up the title in Norris' McLaren way "sooner."
Interestingly, Verstappen also mentioned that he would have claimed the title in Hamilton's Mercedes from the 2021 F1 season. Hill, sharing the quote from Verstappen on his Instagram, wrote:
"It's called destroying the opposition."
Notably, such a statement coming from Hill might have raised some eyebrows as the former F1 driver has often criticized Max Verstappen for his driving style. After the Mexico City Grand Prix where Verstappen received two time penalties, Hill called him out for his on-track aggressiveness.
Damon Hill hailed Max Verstappen after Red Bull driver's championship win
The 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill praised Max Verstappen after the Dutchman wrapped up his title in Las Vegas. With this, Verstappen was able to successfully defend his title for a third successive year. Here's what Hill wrote about Verstappen on X:
"Got to hand it to @redbullracing and @Max33Verstappen. They absolutely smashed this generation of F1 regulations and of course Max has driven brilliantly (occasional loss of self control!) The event horizon of 7 titles looms into view. Maybe 8? That will keep us glued to @f1 #f1," Damon Hill wrote.
With the recent championship, the Red Bull driver matched the record set by Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel — both four-time world champions. While Prost claimed the titles during with McLaren and Williams, Vettel did it with Red Bull, consecutively from 2010 to 2013.
As he clinched his championship in Las Vegas, he matched the record set by former F1 drivers Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg, who claimed their respective titles at the same venue back in 1981 and 1982.