learn from McLaren’s mistake last year, which opened the door to a
remarkable Max Verstappen comeback. McLaren dominated much of the
2025 season, allowing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to battle one
another before Verstappen suddenly mounted a staggering title
charge. The Dutchman’s late, but ultimately unsuccessful, charge
was aided by Norris and Piastri fighting each other, with McLaren
at times losing control of race situations. This season, Mercedes
faces a similar challenge after dominating the opening rounds.
Lewis Hamilton has finished second, second and first in the last
three races to move into second in the standings. He finds himself
41 points adrift of Kimi Antonelli and nine ahead of George
Russell, with Hamilton’s victory in Barcelona having been helped by
the Mercedes duo battling each other. In Hill’s eyes, Mercedes
needs to get a hold of its drivers and ensure Hamilton is not
allowed back into the title fight, describing him as “the Max
Verstappen of last year”. “So, right now, they’ll be having
meetings at Mercedes, saying, ‘Guys, we don’t want to be in the
situation McLaren were in last year with Max,'” Hill said on the
Stay on Track podcast. “You’ve got two guys going for the title.
They get obsessed with that, absorbed in their own private
ambitions, which, to be fair, as a driver, I think they’ve got
every right to have. “But while you’re doing that, another guy
could slip in between you. So Lewis is now the Max Verstappen of
last year for Mercedes, isn’t he? “He can basically put pressure
on them because of the points. He could be putting pressure on
George, mounting a challenge.”