Lewis Hamilton has suggested that the 2021 title battle he is fighting this season is “not his hardest.”
Hamilton has had quite a few championship battles in his time in F1. He has battled illustrious names like Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg. He is now battling Max Verstappen, who is pushing him quite a bit.
Many have hailed Verstappen as the best opponent the seven-time champion has had since the inception of the hybrid era. However, Hamilton suggested that the 2021 title battle he is fighting this season is “not his hardest.”
As quoted by Planet F1, when asked if Verstappen’s challenge is the hardest he has ever had to deal with, Hamilton replied, “No, I wouldn’t say so.
“I was just thinking earlier on today about all the championships I’ve fought in since I was 10.
“And there have been so many difficult moments and they are all very similar in their own way, but all unique in their own way at the same time.”
Scope for improvement
Mercedes haven’t been faultless this season, and have committed a few high-profile blunders that have cost them. They have dropped a lot of points because of that, but according to Hamilton, it is a learning experience.
“It could be better in the sense we’ve dropped points, we’ve not always been perfect,” he added.
“But you live and learn. I feel like things have happened the way they have for a reason – we’ve learned a lot.
“In Turkey, for example, the pit-lane experience from 2007 helped me there. There are so many experiences from the past, even way before I got to Formula 1, that come in unconsciously and help me to make the decisions I make.
“And I still don’t get everything right, but that’s a part of the process and I don’t get held up by that. I just know I can be better tomorrow,” he concluded.
Read more: Hamilton concedes that Verstappen is the favourite to win 2021 season – “It is going to be tough”