Lewis Hamilton over Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc: Former Mercedes driver on who is the fastest driver on the grid

Former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas claims Lewis Hamilton is still the fastest driver on the current F1 grid. According to him, the 38-year-old is even faster than Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Bottas was Hamilton's teammate from 2017 to 2021 and has seen the Briton win title after title.

Even though the Silver Arrows are struggling to stay on top after 2022, Bottas still believes that Hamilton is the fastest in the sport. When he was asked who was the fastest teammate he had worked with, the Finn instantly picked Lewis Hamilton. He still picked the Briton even when Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were mentioned.

Bottas said in the Beyond the Grid podcast:

"Lewis. I think he's still the quickest driver on the grid. To me, he's the fastest."

Bottas later talked about Hamilton's work ethic at Mercedes, revealing how he was the first to arrive and the last to leave the paddock. He also explained how Hamilton's natural talent was so immense that it allowed him to be extremely consistent.

The Alfa Romeo driver concluded:

"Well, first of all, he’s annoyingly talented! On top of that, he works way harder than people actually think outside the race weekends. And in the race weekends, he’s often the last person to leave from the paddock. It's just that combination and he's got big drive inside him to always deliver and do well. His average baseline performance is so good and then he's really consistent as well. It makes him hard to beat. When I could beat him, that was obviously a good day."

In five years with Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas was unable to beat Lewis Hamilton and win his maiden world championship. This shows how talented the seven-time world champion is.

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Lewis Hamilton concerned about F1 becoming boring due to Red Bull's dominance

Lewis Hamilton recently voiced his concern over F1 becoming dull due to the huge gap at the top of the field and fewer overtakes. He urged the heads of the sport and the FIA to continue working hard to bring the team even closer and balance the field. According to RaceFans, he said:

"F1 needs to do better, I think, as a sport. They have already tried to bring the teams closer but it never seems to work. So all I can say is that we’re working as hard as we can to close up and get back to give them some more excitement. I think it’s good that we’re trying new things. I think it’s important that we continue to move forward and evolve. The technology has evolved."

Hamilton hopes that the sport will evolve and offer fans better racing.