David Coulthard hits back at Lewis Hamilton’s ‘not the case’ Max Verstappen claim

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David Coulthard has now hit back at Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton for questioning the strength of the teammates Max Verstappen has faced in Formula 1 with Red Bull.

The seven-time F1 champion has sparked debate amongst the paddock after claiming that Verstappen has never faced an internal battle like he has. Hamilton has shared a garage with a spate of fellow champions throughout his time in the sport at McLaren and also Mercedes.

McLaren gave Hamilton his breakthrough in Formula 1 in 2007 when they placed him beside two-time champion Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard had just won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006 with Renault. Yet Hamilton fought Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen for the title in 2007.

Hamilton has shared McLaren and Mercedes garages with F1 champions

Raikkonen sealed what remains Ferrari’s last driver’s championship in 2007 with a one-point margin to both, Hamilton and Alonso. McLaren then replaced Alonso with Heikki Kovalainen for 2008 as Hamilton went on to win the first of the Stevenage-born ace’s F1 championships.

Another world champion would join Hamilton at McLaren in 2010, though, as Jenson Button arrived fresh off of winning the 2009 title for Brawn GP. The Somerset-born star remained at the Woking-based outfit until he retired in 2016, while Hamilton left for Mercedes in 2013.

Hamilton joined Nico Rosberg at the Silver Arrows and the pair would fight for the F1 title in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Briton won their battle in 2014 and 2015 before Rosberg took the crown in 2016. Valtteri Bottas then replaced the German who retired at the top of the sport.

Bottas proved able to stay close to Hamilton but never enough to sustain any title challenge. Instead, Sebastian Vettel was the 38-year-old’s closest rival during 2017 and 2018 while with Ferrari. Verstappen then took on the mantle with Red Bull in 2021, when he won the crown.

Hamilton questions the quality of Verstappen’s teammates at Red Bull

Red Bull promoted Verstappen from Toro Rosso to the factory team during 2016 and he won his debut in Spain. The 25-year-old joined Daniel Ricciardo at the Milton Keynes-based outfit and ended the year just 52 points behind the Australian. Ricciardo edged him by 32 in 2017.

Verstappen eclipsed Ricciardo for the first time in 2018 before the 34-year-old left to sign for Renault. The Australian’s exit took an at-the-time seven-time Grand Prix winner out of their garage. Pierre Gasly initially stepped up but lost the Red Bull drive mid-season to Alex Albon.

Albon also only stayed at Red Bull through the 2020 season before Sergio Perez joined. The London-born Thai, like Gasly, was unable to adapt to the characteristics of the Red Bull and challenge Verstappen. While Perez has also proven to be a capable No2 for the Dutch driver.

So, Hamilton recently confidently questioned the quality of Verstappen’s teammates at Red Bull compared to the calibre of driver he shared a garage with at McLaren and at Mercedes.

“In my personal opinion, Valtteri and, actually, all my teammates have been stronger than the teammates that Max has had,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

“Jenson, Fernando, George [Russel], Valtteri, Nico – I’ve had so many. These guys have all been very, very strong, very consistent and Max is not racing against anyone like that.”

Coulthard hits back at Hamilton for questioning Verstappen’s teammates

Ex-McLaren and Red Bull driver, Coulthard, has now hit back at Hamilton for questioning the quality of Verstappen’s teammates in F1. The 13-time Grand Prix winner believes it is not an accurate assessment of a driver’s skill who he shares a garage with but who you are fighting.

“I know Lewis has made a comment that he does not have tough teammates,” Coulthard told F1’s official website. “First of all, that’s not the case and second of all, it’s not actually about who your teammate is, it’s about who your competitors are.

“His biggest competitor, so far, has been Lewis and they have been unbelievable in the way they have gone wheel-to-wheel and performed and really delivered some great results.”