Lewis Hamilton downplays Max Verstappen's performance this season, credits Adrian Newey and Red Bull instead


Lewis Hamilton deflected away from commenting on Max Verstappen’s driving or performance in the 2022 F1 season. The Briton praised Red Bull as a team and their chief designer Adrian Newey, crediting the Dutchman’s success to them.

Asked to comment on Verstappen’s performance and driving at a team media session, which included Sportskeeda, ahead of the 2022 F1 Dutch GP, the Briton replied:

“It’s more... impressed (sic) with Adrian Newey and his team. I think the team, it is a great team. They’ve generally had really great cars for some time. I think they used to have really high ride height and had more drag than before. They have realised, they’ve experienced this year that their engine actually isn’t slower than the others and that they had a lot more drag in the previous years. They’ve done a fantastic job and anything I would have said in the past about the team, I didn’t mean it in a negative way.”

The Briton directed praise and credit to Adrian Newey and Red Bull as a team in an attempt to avoid praising the reigning champion. Apologizing for his comments in the past, calling Red Bull a drinks company-run team, Lewis Hamilton stated that the Milton Keynes-based squad had proved to many critics, including him, with their success. The seven-time world champion suggested that Newey’s thesis on ground-effect cars was impressive, which is one of the reasons Red Bull has managed to develop a dominant car.

Further praising Red Bull and Newey, Lewis Hamilton said:

“I think years ago I said something about them being a drinks company or something like that. And it was really just highlighting that you would bet on a car manufacturer more so. But they’ve proved me wrong and everyone (else) and they’ve done a great job. But more so, you know, just knowing that Adrian obviously did his thesis on ground-effect cars when he was leaving university. So no surprise of what he’s done and created this year, it’s impressive. But I believe in the young guns in my team that will catch up.”

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Lewis Hamilton is all praise for Adrian Newey and Red Bull’s 2022 car

Known as F1’s best car designer, Adrian Newey has been one of the few engineers to work on ground-effect cars in the previous era of F1 and compose a thesis on it. Acknowledging the British veteran designer’s expertise, Lewis Hamilton recalled his own McLaren car which was developed from one of Newey’s designs. The British champion feels Verstappen is comfortable with the car and rarely has issues with bouncing, which can purely be credited to the way Red Bull’s chief engineer innovates cars.

Praising Red Bull RB18 and Newey, Lewis Hamilton spoke to the broadcast media saying:

“They have the aero balance great. They’ve got great ride quality. He [Verstappen] doesn’t ever have any problems with bumps. When you have a stable platform like that. They had a great car last year as well. Adrian Newey doesn’t generally build bad cars. He has built amazing cars over the years. My first championship car was an evolution of one of his cars. I know he did his thesis on ground-effect floors so it is no surprise. He is one of the only ones who draws by hand. His understanding has been an advantage to them and they have done a great job.”

Overall, Lewis Hamilton feels that Red Bull and their design expertise have executed the new regulations perfectly, which has been reflected in their dominance in the 2022 title battle. The Mercedes champion has been struggling with his own car and also revealed that the team has shifted its focus to the 2023 development. The British driver does not expect any improvements in their performance in the upcoming races and believes it is imperative to shift focus to next season.