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F1 pundit and former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has questioned the hypocrisy of complaining about Max Verstappen's dominance when Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were celebrated. He talked about the recent outcry about the Dutch driver dominating the sport in a manner that has not been seen before.
Verstappen has won 11 of the 13 races this season and is on a nine-race win streak. Moreover, Red Bull have won every race this season and have had a car capable of winning at every track.
Amidst their dominance, some have complained about F1 becoming predictable. Villeneuve questioned the hypocrisy of that bunch that was fine with the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes dominance during the turbo era but is complaining now.
Claiming that Max Verstappen is clearly better than the rest of the grid, Villeneuve questioned the selective outrage. As quoted by Autosport, he said:
“He is better than the rest. That’s it. There’s no point saying it’s harmful. It’s not the rules that make him the best. He is the best. People should be happy and proud of that.
"It used to be Lewis and Mercedes (who earned a drivers’ and teams’ title double between 2014 and 2020), and nobody complained. So why didn’t people complain about Lewis but complain now about Max? I don’t understand the concept there."
Max Verstappen is dominating; Red Bull aren't, says Jacques Villeneuve
Further accentuating his point, Villeneuve said that it's Max Verstappen who's dominating and not Red Bull. If we take a look at how the season has unraveled, behind the Dutch driver, things have been very close, and the gaps are not as big as they used to be.
The former Williams driver said:
“It’s Max who is dominating. It’s not Red Bull. We’ve never had F1 so close. If you look first (place) to 12th; sometimes, it’s a second, two seconds (gap). It’s never been like that in history, and people complain. This is the best it’s ever, ever been.”
Max Verstappen's dominance has been unprecedented in the sport in many ways. Unlike his predecessors, there are almost no off days for the Dutch driver.
Even on his worst days, he has picked up a P2 finish and scored at a rampant rate. He will, in all likelihood, become a three-time world champion by the end of the season and break quite a few records on the way.
