{"id":295010,"date":"2023-11-12T10:09:43","date_gmt":"2023-11-12T10:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=295010"},"modified":"2023-11-12T10:09:43","modified_gmt":"2023-11-12T10:09:43","slug":"lewis-hamilton-has-already-had-to-wave-goodbye-to-30m-because-of-max-verstappen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/racing\/f1\/lewis-hamilton-has-already-had-to-wave-goodbye-to-30m-because-of-max-verstappen\/","title":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton has already had to wave goodbye to \u00a330m because of Max Verstappen"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Lewis Hamilton has now missed out on his \u00a315 million World Championship bonus for the second season in a row after Max Verstappen claimed his third consecutive title at the Qatar Grand Prix last month.<\/p>\n

According to figures from the Daily Mail, Hamilton\u2019s contract makes him the second-best-paid driver on the grid behind Verstappen with the seven-time world champion raking in \u00a327.5m per year, as well as an additional \u00a315m for securing the Drivers\u2019 Championship title.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Hamilton, he hasn\u2019t come close to securing that extra \u00a315m in the past couple of years. 2022 was a particularly challenging year for the legendary Brit, who ended the campaign in sixth place in the standings, despite climbing onto the podium nine times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2023 has been an improvement for Hamilton from a personal standpoint with his consistent performances meaning that he heads into the final two rounds of the campaign with a shot – albeit a narrow one – at passing Sergio Perez in the battle for second place in the Drivers\u2019 Championship standings.<\/p>\n

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Despite this, however, Mercedes remain worlds away from being able to consistently fight Verstappen for victories, let alone for a World Championship, and the team\u2019s inability to understand the behaviour of the W14 is a cause for concern heading into a critical winter of development.<\/p>\n

The Silver Arrows looked to have taken a major stride forward with their new floor upgrade at the United States Grand Prix, finishing second on the road before Hamilton was ultimately disqualified due to a technical infringement. This was then backed up in Mexico City with another strong showing relative to Ferrari and McLaren.<\/p>\n

Many expected Hamilton and Mercedes to therefore challenge Verstappen for victory in Brazil, especially given how strong they were at Interlagos one year ago. Instead, the Brackley-based team endured their worst weekend of the season so far.<\/p>\n

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