{"id":295264,"date":"2023-10-26T13:54:25","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T13:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=295264"},"modified":"2023-10-26T13:54:25","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T13:54:25","slug":"lewis-hamilton-team-mates-ripped-apart-as-mercedes-star-is-bluntly-ruled-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/racing\/f1\/lewis-hamilton-team-mates-ripped-apart-as-mercedes-star-is-bluntly-ruled-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton team-mates ripped apart as Mercedes star is bluntly ruled out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lewis Hamilton commits to Mercedes until 2025<\/h3>\n

Former Benetton team manager Joan Villadelprat has questioned the quality of Lewis Hamilton’s past Mercedes team-mates. The Spaniard believes that Max Verstappen’s dominance over fellow Red Bull star Sergio Perez is evidence of his superiority over the rest of the F1 field.<\/p>\n

Hamilton won the world title six times in seven years between 2014 and 2020, with Mercedes setting the pace on the F1 grid. But rarely did he dominate one of his team-mates in the way Verstappen has done to Perez this season.<\/p>\n

Villadelprat, who managed Benetton until 1999, does not put that down to Perez performing below expectations, but rather Verstappen being the best driver around right now. The 67-year-old even criticised a number of Hamilton’s past team-mates, including 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, who he feels is ‘nothing special’.<\/p>\n

“Hamilton has had moments [where he\u2019s untouchable],” Villadelprat told Planet F1. “I love Hamilton.\u00a0He has had a very good time with Mercedes.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

“He was lucky enough to get paired with the best engine in the paddock. If you compare [Nico] Rosberg and Hamilton, I didn\u2019t think Rosberg was anything special. Rosberg, and even [Valtteri] Bottas, were sometimes quicker than Hamilton in qualifying, and they weren\u2019t special drivers.<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t see Max has that. His team-mate is not even close. And the team-mate is not bad, he is as quick as Bottas, as quick as Russell, and as quick as Rosberg.”<\/p>\n