Lewis Hamilton eyes Max Verstappen’s ‘decent’ RB21 runs in preseason testing

Lewis Hamilton was in awe of Max Verstappen's 'decent lap' times with Red Bull's RB21 during the pre-season testing.

Lewis Hamilton eyes Max Verstappen’s ‘decent’ RB21 runs in preseason testing

Lewis Hamilton (via Getty), Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

The pre-season test has put forth some interesting results from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen amidst their performance struggles. Lewis Hamilton has also deemed his first official test session with Ferrari in Formula 1. After spending significant time on and off the track, the Briton assessed rival Verstappen’s results in the sessions.

Max Verstappen will remain the driver to watch as he copes with Red Bull’s performance struggles to achieve his fifth consecutive title win. The Dutchman lodged some impressive lap times in the pre-season test and surprised the paddock. Lewis Hamilton highlighted that McLaren performed well on the first test day. Moreover, the 40-year-old applauded Verstappen’s ‘decent’ lap times in Bahrain, keeping in mind the temperatures.

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McLaren did a great run yesterday, and I think also Max did a decent one today, given the temperatures.

Lewis Hamilton told in a post-session interview.

Hamilton insisted that different teams used different strategies to prepare for the upcoming season. As such, the Briton noted that a particular team’s fuel load and program was difficult to figure out. Due to this, the test-session results were considered with a ‘pinch of salt’ as real-time performances could be completely different.

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It’s hard to know what fuel loads everyone is running, as we’re all doing different our own programmes, so you have to take everything with a pinch of salt.

Lewis Hamilton added.

Lewis Hamilton claims Ferrari ‘got some work to do’ following the test session

Ferrari achieved a great performance improvement in the recent seasons. Lewis Hamilton’s entry is set to bolster the team’s chances of championship contention this year. However, Hamilton noted that there were many areas of improvement for the Italian constructor. The 40-year-old anticipates that he will get a better understanding of the SF-25’s pace during his run around the track.

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton (via GPBlog)

For us, we’re just trying to improve. I haven’t even done the long run yet, so I’m about to do it this afternoon, and I’ll get a bit of a better understanding of how this car behaves in a in a race stint. It’s going be my first race stint in with the team. I’ve only done short runs of like 10 laps, so it’ll be interesting. We’ve definitely got some work to do to improve.

Lewis Hamilton noted.

The 2025 season is set to be crucial for Hamilton as he could be labeled as the ‘hero forever’ by the Tifosi if he secures the title win. The Briton will also go against Charles Leclerc who has showcased strong qualifying performances in the past.