Lewis Hamilton describes how Max Verstappen's race weekend is much easier in the dominant Red Bull compared to other F1 racers

Lewis Hamilton has said that having a dominant car like Max Verstappen's RB19 makes life much easier for an F1 driver, as they do not have to take the extra risk to extract better performance.

Hamilton is himself not new to driving dominant cars, as Mercedes gave him the fastest car on the grid in every season from 2014 to 2021.

Since the introduction of the new regulations, however, Mercedes has taken a step back and their car is just not good enough to fight for the title. In the meantime, Red Bull has jumped to the front of the grid.

As a result, while Lewis Hamilton continues to struggle to challenge at the front of the grid, Max Verstappen is on his way to winning his third consecutive world title.

Explaining how having a dominant car means you don't have to be on the edge all the time, Lewis Hamilton told Sky Sports:

"Once you get on top of the car and the car works in this window, and it’s consistent, it’s much easier to get it into that setup. When you are with a car like I have, for example, you’re trying everything, every different setup and combination to try and eke out a little bit more performance."

He added:

"But when you have performance in hand, you are not necessarily always having to make risky choices throughout practice in order to get that extra half a tenth."

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Lewis Hamilton on the areas where the team tends to push during a race weekend

Further expanding on his point, Lewis Hamilton explained how every session and every metric needs to be on the limit for the chasing pack while the frontrunner has an easier time finding those sweet spots.

He said:

"You don’t have to push the bodywork as tight as possible, put the engine on the rim of the temperature because you have a little bit of breathing space. Then you don’t have to push the tyres as hard, so you can lift and coast a little bit more, which ultimately means longer stints. All these different things compound and the more you practice it, the easier it gets."

Hamilton is currently fourth on the driver's standings with 87 points from seven races so far this season. He trails former McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso in third place by 12 points.

The seven-time world champion recently got his second podium finish of the season, taking P2 at the Spanish GP.