Lewis Hamilton feels he’s “one of the only drivers” on the current F1 grid to challenge Max Verstappen for the championship

Lewis Hamilton believes that he is one of the only drivers on the current Formula 1 grid who can challenge Max Verstappen for a world championship after the latter was crowned champion for the third consecutive year earlier in Qatar.

Since the 2021 season, Max Verstappen and Red Bull have been on a winning spree after defeating Lewis Hamilton who was chasing his eighth world title. The 2023 season proved to be one of the Dutchman's most dominant seasons, winning 14 of the 17 races so far, and with it, winning his third consecutive world championship in Qatar. No other driver has come close to him and it is apparent that the pace of the RB19 is undeniably strong. So far, there has been only a single race where a non-Red Bull driver has won (Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, in Singapore).

While his domination has been strong, Lewis Hamilton has been rather off the competitive pace. His Qatar GP performance turned out to be disappointing after his opening lap crash with teammate George Russell in the first corner. However, he still feels that he has the ability to compete with Verstappen for the championship, as reported by GPBlog ahead of the United States Grand Prix:

"I’m praying everyday that we will close the gap [to Red Bull]. I want to be fighting for the championship, I want to be fighting Max. I believe I’m one of the only drivers that can do so. But we gotta have the package."

His belief of being one of the only drivers to defeat Max Verstappen is rather strong, and it seems as if he will be trying to make the most out of the 2024 season. Lewis Hamilton further added that it's not just the car that needs to be worked upon, but a lot of other aspects of the team as well including the pit stops and an overall better, more competitive package.

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Can Lewis Hamilton hold the third place this season?

After a long season with a handful of races remaining, the seven-time world champion has been comfortably sitting in the third spot in the championship standings. But, at the same time, Fernando Alonso, who had an amazing start to the season with Aston Martin, is close behind in fourth place.

Only 11 points separate Lewis Hamilton from Alonso, and although the latter's car has been less competitive in recent races, his only competition will be with the Briton, which might make the rest of the season for Hamilton rather tough if his Mercedes does not carry enough pace.