"Life is unfair as well": Max Verstappen's terse response to Lewis Hamilton's appeal to prevent Red Bull from developing the 2024 F1 challenger

Max Verstappen has clapped back at Lewis Hamilton's suggestion that FIA needs to intervene and prevent Red Bull from developing its 2024 F1 challenger.

The Mercedes driver suggested that a provision needs to be introduced by the FIA so that teams cannot start working on their next year's challenger too early. This thought stemmed from the fact that the Austrian team has already started work on the 2024 F1 challenger.

Talking about how Red Bull is already working on its 2024 F1 challenger, Lewis Hamilton said that the FIA should intervene and teams should not be allowed to do that. When Max Verstappen was questioned about Hamilton's comments, the Red Bull driver shrugged it off as the driver never complained when he was enjoying the benefits of the same thing.

Verstappen told the media (via RacingNews365):

"Life is unfair as well, it is not only in Formula 1. A lot of things in life are unfair, so you just have to deal with it."

Lewis Hamilton had told Sky Sports earlier in the day that even though he was confident Mercedes could close down the gap on Red Bull by the end of this season, Max Verstappen will still have an edge next season because the team is already working on the next year's car. He said:

"The car is moving in the right direction, I think ultimately it's likely that bit by bit at the end of the year, we will probably catch Red Bull. But that is probably because they are already focusing on next year's car. They're so far ahead, they don't have to make any changes to this car anymore."

He added:

"I think the FIA should probably put a time when everyone is allowed to start developing on next year's car. Say August 1, that's where everybody can start so that no one can get an advantage on the next year, cause that sucks. It would make more sense."

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The Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton exchange does not make the Mercedes driver look good

In all of this, Lewis Hamilton does not come across as looking good in any which way. The Mercedes driver has benefited from his team producing the best car on the grid for close to a decade during the turbo hybrid era.

He was the benefactor of Mercedes getting the jump on the grid and using the exact advantage over the grid to switch focus to the next year's car. This was something that the German team did with regularity during that period and reaped the benefits of it as well.

With Lewis Hamilton minting six world championships through that, it does not look good when he turns around and complains if Max Verstappen is getting the benefit of the same thing.