Eddie Jordan believes age has become a factor for Lewis Hamilton, and the former F1 team owner reckons the Briton would not beat Max Verstappen if the pair went head-to-head in the same car.
In the past, Hamilton and Verstappen have indulged in many on-track battles that have thrilled – and also often divided – F1 fans.
The pair's confrontations peaked during the 2021 season that ended in controversy, with Vestappen snatching the crown from Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Since however, Mercedes' inability to produce under F1's ground-effect regulations a machine as competitive as Red Bull's dominant designs has hindered Hamilton's efforts.
For now, the seven-time world champion's equipment deficit means that he is no longer fighting his former nemesis wheel-to-wheel.
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But Jordan, when asked by David Coulthard on the pair's latest Formula for Success podcast whether Hamilton was now "too old to go head-to-head with Max", replied that he believed he was.
"I think it's over," quipped Jordan. "I don't think it's over, I think he will still win Grands Prix but he will need certain things to fall into place for him.
"I think Lewis has emerged in the last couple of races, he's been very strong and I'm hugely impressed with what he's doing.
"But Max is at that, you know, sweet spot for age, experience, belief, knowledge, the people he’s been around with the team – he's in a very solid, safe structure – and I think in the same car, right at this moment as we speak with the same ages, it has to be Max."
While Coulthard defended Hamilton as a leading contender in F1, the Scot ultimately deferred to the opinion of his sidekick when pressed on the topic.
"I still reckon Lewis has got it, and I think that they are both exceptional," Coulthard added. "They are not great racing drivers, they are exceptional.
"If they were in the same team, which would never happen, I think there would be some contact. It would be sort of Prost-Senna.
"Look, I’ve got to say that Max – as you say, he's in that sweet spot – at 25-years-old to have done what he's done in his time in F1, he's got to have the edge.
©Mercedes
"What happens through life, and even if you're very successful, you get baggage with life, don't you?
"When you're younger, you don't know what you don't know, so you don't worry about what you don't know.
"As you get older, you gain experience and you can make better decisions, but all of that very nice baggage that Lewis has to carry just starts to fill up your mind.
"So he would appear to me a busy boy off track with all of his other passions. And as we know, Max when he is off track is very much focused on his simulator, and his e-gaming team.
"I think he's still totally immersed with anything to do with driving."
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