Former Ferrari and Williams team manager Peter Windsor believes it would be “almost impossible” for Lewis Hamilton to beat Max Verstappen, if they both raced for Red Bull.
A Hamilton-Verstappen partnership is certainly exciting to think about, with one fan having asked Windsor who he thinks would win the title if they both raced for Red Bull.
Whilst it’ll almost certainly never happen, Hamilton is more likely to move to Red Bull than Verstappen is to Mercedes, due to how dominant the Austrians currently are.
Should Hamilton one day suddenly find himself at Red Bull alongside Verstappen though, Windsor still thinks the reigning World Champion would be unbeatable.
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Windsor believes Verstappen’s “symbolic relationship” with team principal Christian Horner and chief technical officer Adrian Newey would give him the edge, but that Hamilton might be able to beat the Dutchman on the odd occasion.
“Well, in order for them to be team-mates, it would mean Lewis obviously joining Red Bull. And in that situation, I think it would be Max,” Windsor said during livestream on his YouTube channel.
“Because Max has this symbiotic relationship with Adrian [Newey], and for sure with Christian [Horner, Red Bull team principal], but more importantly with Adrian, because Adrian is the guy.
“And Max knows Adrian’s brain pretty well and for sure, Adrian knows Max pretty well. And there’s only one Adrian and Lewis would be chiming into that, to some extent, and he’d be getting in his racing car and it would feel great, much better than the Mercedes, and he might out-qualify Max by a tenth or two.
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“But in terms of overall in a season, it would be almost impossible I think to beat the Max Verstappen-Adrian Newey partnership, even if you’re Lewis Hamilton, or George Russell, or Charles Leclerc, or anybody, because it’s not just Max, and it’s not just Adrian, it’s the two of them together.”
Verstappen is certainly in unbeatable form currently and heads to the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend with a 69-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship, following a run of four consecutive victories.
Unless something truly bizarre happens, it does seem like the 25-year-old is destined to claim a third consecutive crown.