Verstappen laughs off Hamilton's pre-season scepticism
Tuesday, 15 March 2022
The Dutchman accused him of playing down their hopes.
Max Verstappen has responded with scepticism to Lewis Hamilton's claims Mercedes will not be competing for victories in the early stages of the 2022 Formula 1® season.
Verstappen, who beat Hamilton to the 2021 Drivers' Championship in controversial circumstances at last December's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, posted the fastest time on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Saturday.
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Ahead of Bahrain hosting the first Grand Prix of the season next week, Hamilton suggested Mercedes will likely not be competing for early season wins, due to problems with the team's new W13 car.
His rival Verstappen, however, scoffed at those comments, accusing Mercedes, and other Formula 1® teams, of playing down their potential before the season begins.
"[It's] always like this," the world champion said in quotes reported by Autosport.
"If someone is doing well or a team that everyone expects to do well, then it's 'oh no, we're definitely not the favourite'.
"And then a week later, when things do go well, all of a sudden it's 'oh no, but we turned it around completely within a week. Not normal, unbelievable work. Thanks to all people in the factory!'"
Verstappen also noted Mercedes were "very strong during the first race weekend" in 2021, with Hamilton winning the season opener in Bahrain after making similar comments about the team's issues this time last year.
The 24-year-old also spoke of Ferrari as potential rivals for Red Bull during the coming season, noting they had been "consistently fast" throughout pre-season.
"They [Ferrari] clearly have a stable car at the moment," he added.
"It just looks good for them, they have had very few problems as well. We will see next week who is fastest, but so far, they have had a very good test.
"The last two years weren't great for them, so you automatically start looking at this season a bit earlier than some of the other teams. It's more than normal that they started earlier than us on the 2022 car and that's okay as well.
"In the end, with these new cars, the development rate during the season is the most important thing."
