Lewis Hamilton believes that Formula 1 has now firmly entered the Max Verstappen era, and the Briton says "there's no telling" how long the Dutchman's dominance will last.
The 2023 F1 season has yet to reach its half-way point, and yet the outcome of the championship already appears as cut and dried.
At Silverstone last weekend, Verstappen upheld Red Bull Racing's 100% cent win rate in 2023 while conquering his eighth consecutive victory and extending his lead in the Drivers' standings to 99 points over his teammate Sergio Perez.
Verstappen's forward march at the wheel of Red Bull's supreme RB19 is set to continue, and barring any unforeseen event the 25-year-old will likely celebrate before the end of the summer his third world crown in F1.
As Verstappen continues to deliver stellar performances and push the boundaries of his talent, it becomes increasingly evident for Hamilton that Formula 1 is now experiencing a new era defined by his rival's remarkable presence and success in the sport.
"For a long, long time within our sport, there's always been large chunks of dominance," Hamilton told the Chequered Flag podcast.
"I had it and I was really, really fortunate to have it with this team, Michael [Schumacher] had it, Sebastian [Vettel] had it and now it's Max's period.
"There's no telling how long that will be or whether we get the car on the right track and can fight them next year or if Ferrari can, or whether it will be us next or Ferrari next or Red Bull next."
Hamilton admitted that his own stretch of unwavering dominance in F1 was not the most "fulfilling" period in his career.
"That's why I've been saying just recently, like, even when we were dominant, the best years were when we were fighting, when we had close battles with Red Bull or we had a close battle with Ferrari," he explained.
"On some of the other times where the gap was a little bit bigger. That wasn't really the most fulfilling period of time.
"But it's nothing we can do about it, we just did a better job. And that's where Max is.
"Ultimately, him and his team have just done a better job than everybody else, and you cannot take it away from them."
Hamilton hopes that Mercedes will eventually recover its form and that he'll be able to take the fight to Red Bull and Verstappen for the duration of a campaign and seek a record eighth world title in F1.
But he also hopes that F1 works harder to tighten the competition to allow for closer battles to unfold at the front of the field on any given race day.
"As a sport, we have to work, we have to have a conversation about how we can set it up to be better for the future, so we have tighter races where the pack is closer, and we have close battles between Red Bull and Ferrari and Mercedes Aston Martin that would be epic," he said.
"That's my dream because that's when I grew up racing karts, it was wheel to wheel close battling.
"I don't dream of having a dominant period ever again, in my for myself, like winning multiple championships in a row, but the hope is that you would be in battle at least."
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