Max Verstappen predicted Lewis Hamilton in top three, Skipping teammate Sergio Perez
Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 and Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing.Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 and Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull.
Max Verstappen has predicted that Lewis Hamilton will finish second in the 2024 F1 Drivers’ Championship team-mate Sergio Perez is among his top three predictions.
Verstappen dominated the season opener at the Bahrain GP from pole position as Red Bull recorded its first 1-2 finish since the 2023 Italian GP.Verstappen was struggling favorite to win the title – and his fourth in F1 – the battle behind him looks tough.
Ferrari had the second fastest car in Bahrain and were within striking distance of beating Perez, while Mercedes and McLaren had more difficult weekends.
Mercedes struggled with an overheating power plant, while McLaren is expected to improve on fast tracks.
Ahead of the weekend, Verstappen was asked what his predictions were for his top three.
Interestingly, he left his teammate Perez out of it.”Me, then Lewis and then Carlos,” he said in QandA’s Viaplay preview of the season.Verstappen named one in Norris Country.season driver will win in 2024.”I hope so,” he added. “But we won’t write it. I think I’ll pick someone who hasn’t won yet… Country!”The Dutchman was also modest about how many races he will win this year.
Verstappen got 2024. a remarkable 19 wins in 2018 – an F1 record.He believes he will only win 12 in 2024, but based on the first race it should be many more.
“Twelve,” he said. “When it comes to more, I can always say I did a better job.”Finally, Verstappen also tipped his former team, now called Visa Cash App RB, to a surprise podium.
“How are we doing . doing. I’ll call the team… Visa Cash App RB, they get the podium,” he added..
