“Rambling, racist nonsense” – Fans furious as ex-F1 team manager labels Lewis Hamilton as just a brand compared to ‘F1 driver’ Max Verstappen

Graham Watson reckoned that Lewis Hamilton was simply a brand to the world while Max Verstappen's identity remained of an F1 driver


“Rambling, racist nonsense” – Fans furious as ex-F1 team manager labels Lewis Hamilton as just a brand compared to ‘F1 driver’ Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton (Credits: IMAGO)

The past two F1 title campaigns from Max Verstappen have proved that the Dutchman has the potential to break many records in the world. Although Lewis Hamilton has matched the number of title wins with the Legendary Michael Schumacher, people believe that the 26-year-old can match, if not break this record. However, Alphatauri’s manager Graham Watson has made some bold claims about the two drivers.

Watson claimed that Verstappen was the best thing to happen to Formula 1, overlooking Hamilton’s contribution to the sport. Subsequently, the 56-year-old further asserted that the Dutchman’s switch from AlphaTauri to Red Bull was comparable to Schumacher’s move to Ferrari. Hence, Verstappen immensely popularized the sport, according to Watson.

When Max went from us to Red Bull, I compared it to Michael Schumacher’s move to Ferrari. He made Formula 1 immensely popular at the time. Just look at the old images of Hockenheim and Spa: the stands were full with Schumacher flags.
Watson told Verstappen.com.
YouTube video

However, the former manager was not hesitant in labeling Lewis Hamilton as just a ‘brand’ of Formula 1. Due to his other interests apart from F1, fans wondered about him being a driver for the sport, according to Watson. Finally, the 56-year-old asserted that this fact about the sport won’t change despite others’ opinions over the status quo.

FS Video
Lewis Hamilton is very talented, but is involved in so many things that people wonder: is he a Formula 1 driver or not? He’s associated with so many other things. Lewis Hamilton is a brand, Max Verstappen is a Formula 1 driver. And that won’t change.

Fans showcase their disagreement with Graham Watson’s comments

In a recent tweet on X, the majority of fans reacted negatively to Watson’s comments about the two drivers. A particular fan claimed that Watson was being ‘racist’ due to his comments on the status quo. Another fan asserted that this was the worst F1 take that they had seen in a long time. One fan highlighted that Hamilton was indeed bigger than the sport of F1, and hence need not be regarded as a ‘brand’ of F1.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via imago)
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via imago)

Another fan highlighted that Watson was just ‘rambling’ while making such claims about the seven-time world champion. Some fans also insisted that Hamilton was the reason behind the ever-growing popularity of the sport. Other fans exclaimed that Watson was just being ‘biased’ towards Verstappen and thinking straight over the matter.

Although both the driver have delivered very promising results over their career, Verstappen still has a contract till 2029. Additionally, Hamilton’s recent winless form has fans questioning the skills of the former world champion. However, this discussion is not substantial as both the drivers have been excelling in their respective regulations era and both the drivers are at par with each other in terms of performance during a race.

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