As he accepted the third-place trophy at Friday night’s FIA gala, Lewis Hamilton lauded the “flawless” Max Verstappen, but warned the Red Bull driver that Mercedes “can close that gap.”
Red Bull and Verstappen were the dominant force throughout the 2023 Formula 1 season, cruising to the Constructors’ Championship with 21 wins in 22 Grand Prix races.
Verstappen won 19 of them, giving him a third consecutive Drivers’ Championship title ahead of Sergio Perez in Red Bull’s first-ever 1-2 finish in the standings.
Lewis Hamilton: I honestly feel we can bridge that gap.
Hamilton finished third in the standings, however he was winless for the second season in a straight, with his 234 points falling 341 points short of Verstappen’s total.
The Red Bull driver’s points total was sufficient to beat Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship on his own.
Hamilton, accepting his third-place trophy at the gala on Friday night, made it clear to the Dutchman and Red Bull that Mercedes will not take their latest defeat lying down.
“For everyone, it has been a very, very long season and very much looking forward to the winter break,” he remarked during the awards ceremony.
“We’re working very, very hard to make sure we come back strong next year, and I must congratulate Red Bull, Verstappen, and Checo on an incredible year.”
“Max Verstappen performed flawlessly. Max and his entire team really upped the bar, and we have a lot of work to do to narrow that gap, but I genuinely believe we can.”
As for Verstappen, he admits the magnitude of his third championship, which he wrapped up in Qatar at the Sprint race, only really hit him at the season finale in Abu Dhabi as he stood on the podium having clinched win number 19.
“I think it did hit me a little bit more once I was standing on the podium in Abu Dhabi, you realise the season is over, you don’t get to drive this car anymore, unfortunately,” he said.
“It’s been amazing. Working with everyone has also been a lot of joy. We all want to win and do our best, but when you’re traveling all over the world, you want to do it with a terrific bunch of people, which we absolutely have at Red Bull.”
He went on to say, “I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved, but I hope also that it doesn’t stop here!”
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