Fans on Twitter draw out interesting Lewis Hamilton vs. Max Verstappen statistic

Fans on Twitter have found another metric to compare Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Many refuted claims of Verstappen being better than the Briton due to the Dutchman's high number of DNFs in recent years.

Comparisons between the two drivers have been ongoing ever since the Dutchman won his maiden Grand Prix in 2016. Fans have gone back and forth, with some claiming that the 24-year-old has only been limited by the competency of his Red Bull car. One fan on Twitter, however, pointed out that Hamilton has had 27 DNFs in the past 15 years, while Verstappen has had 29 in 6 years. The fan compared the two, saying:

“Lewis Hamilton has had 27 DNF’S 15 years. Max Verstappen has had 29 in 6 years. Yet people still call him greater than Lewis? food for thought”

The tweet sparked a debate in the comments section, with some agreeing with the statistic. Meanwhile, others disagreed with the comparison between the two drivers, claiming the numbers posted by the Hamilton fan were misleading. One fan even brought out their own data, and wrote:

“A reality check for the last two years. Almost every single one of Max’s DNFs for the past two seasons were mechanical failure or being hit by someone else. He has otherwise been by far the best and most consistent non-mercedes driver.”

The fan's analysis was on point, showing the different reasons Max Verstappen has DNF'd in the past two years. Another Verstappen fan also pointed out that Lewis Hamilton has had an amazing reliability streak throughout his career. They wrote:

“And how many of them are down to reliability? Look at any driver and their retirements % is way higher than Lewis. The reliability he has experienced with the car is beyond belief. Bottas has a 9.65% retirement rate, does that make him better than Max too?”

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Lewis Hamilton doesn't blame Max Verstappen for Abu Dhabi incident

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he has no hard feelings towards Max Verstappen for the way the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix played out. Verstappen clinched his maiden world title under controversial circumstances on the final lap of the race at Yas Marina.

Hamilton abstained from social media for nearly two months, with many claiming he was angry at Verstappen. The seven-time world champion, however, said:

“This has nothing to do with Max [Verstappen]. Max did everything a driver would do given the opportunity he was given. He is a great competitor and we will go into another battle like we did last year and conduct ourselves... we will obviously grow from our races and experiences we had last year also this season.”

The Briton made his return to F1 in dramatic fashion, topping the time charts on the third day of pre-season testing. The seven-time world champion has also warned his opponents that he will be back even better in 2022, giving fans hope of a possible eighth title win.