Lewis Hamilton never performed at the level Max Verstappen is doing right now, according to former F1 world champion

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that Lewis Hamilton lacked consistency during Mercedes' dominance when compared to rival Max Verstappen's current form.

Lewis Hamilton won six championships with Mercedes after the start of F1's V6 hybrid era in 2014. During this period he broke several records and established himself as F1's most successful driver.

In 2021, however, Hamilton was dethroned by Max Verstappen, who's now the sport's dominant force. Verstappen backed up his championship-winning year with 15 wins in 2022 to claim his second title.

This season he is the title favorite again after winning seven of the first nine races, and is currently riding a streak of five consecutive wins.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

Jacques Villeneuve recently compared Verstappen's current form to that of Hamilton's prime, claiming that the Mercedes driver never had a perfect year like the reigning champion. While speaking to the Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport, Villeneuve stated that Hamilton's form always varied from race to race.

"He [Hamilton] goes very up and down in performance, it depends on the weekends. But he’s always been like that, every season, even when he was winning. He’s never had a perfect year like Verstappen."

When asked if he was amazed by Verstappen's consistency, he answered:

"No, amazed, no. He always has an extraordinary energy, he never gives up. And he makes a difference. Verstappen has always been like that, for years. He’s at his best for the whole season."

Villeneuve added that Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso was the only driver capable of operating at Verstappen's level:

"It’s hallucinating how he does it, maybe only Alonso was comparable."

At the Austrian GP, Hamilton and Verstappen were involved in a war of words as the former wanted a rule change to halt Red Bull's dominance.

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Lewis Hamilton has no explanation for Mercedes' disappointing pace in Austria

Although the former world champion entered the Austrian GP with two consecutive podium finishes in the bag, Mercedes lacked pace at the Red Bull Ring.

After scoring no points in the Sprint race, Hamilton salvaged eighth place behind Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, and teammate George Russell. He struggled with the car's balance and was penalized for exceeding track limits.

Hamilton said to Motorsport.it:

"I absolutely didn't expect to go as bad as today. I don't really have an answer to give. It's certainly surprising, but the feeling of the car was very similar to what I had all last year, so from this point of view it's not a big surprise. The car was definitely different compared to the last two races. The last two races have been much, much better than today."

Lewis Hamilton currently occupies fourth place in the drivers' standings, trailing third-placed Fernando Alonso by 25 points.