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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Daniel Moxon

Max Verstappen is "turning F1 upside down" and will motivate Lewis Hamilton to continue

Max Verstappen is the leader of a new generation of Formula 1 superstars who will revolutionise the sport, according to former racer Timo Glock.

As a seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton is still very much the biggest name of all. But he is in the final years of his F1 career, along with the likes of Fernando Alonso and soon-to-be-retired Sebastian Vettel.

Take them out of the equation, though, and there is still a lot of talent on the grid. Verstappen is the new golden boy of the sport, given the way he has dominated the defence of his title this season, but he is far from the only driver who is young, hungry and mightily quick.

The likes of George Russell, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon all fit that description as well. Depending on how he adapts to F1 in his first season next year, F2 champ Oscar Piastri might add his name to that list of mooted future world champions.

Glock, who started 91 F1 races in his own career, agrees with the suggestion that the sport currently has a golden generation of drivers on its hands. "The talents we have on the grid, looking back to Charles, looking back on George, the history how they went through the junior categories, as well as Max coming into Formula 1... it feels like he's turning Formula 1 upside down at the moment," he told F1's Beyond the Grid podcast.

Glock also feels the ability of those younger drivers is also helping their older rivals to continue to perform at a high level, as they look to prove they are still just as capable. He added: "The way [Verstappen] dominates, how he grew up being so competitive against Lewis, Lewis being the older guy as well as Alonso being so experienced, still having the hunger and being so motivated to beat the young guys. It's just really interesting to see.

Lando Norris and George Russell are also part of a new wave of impressive young drivers (Getty Images)

"I was asking George 'what is the difference when you come from a smaller team like Williams, being at the back of the grid, to a top team like Mercedes against the big man Lewis Hamilton?' What is he doing different then?

"It was interesting to hear what he was saying the way he is going into weekends super-focused, being so precise, understanding the racing, the strategies, how he has to handle his tyres and so on.

"Very interesting to see what the young guys, when they come up next to the big hero, Lewis Hamilton, how they learn from them and how they very quickly understand what to do and adapt to it and take it on board and do it themselves."

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