Olav Mol: Max Verstappen has made Lewis Hamilton better this year

The Australian Grand Prix podcast In the Fast Lane has released its latest episode featuring long-time Dutch Formula 1® commentator and media figure Olav Mol.

Mol joins In the Fast Lane co-hosts Matt Clayton and Michael Lamonato to look at the rise of Max Verstappen in the Netherlands, explain the massive support behind the Red Bull Racing star's world championship quest, and offer his thoughts on the head-to-head title battle between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

When discussing Verstappen’s most recent win in Austin, Mol said that Mercedes’ performance on Friday resulted in Red Bull creating an even better car for Sunday’s race.

“It was a big one, I’m not so sure it was really unexpected, because they (Red Bull) thought on the Friday ‘oops nine-tenths of a second what’s going on around here and in a way by doing what Mercedes did… they woke Red Bull up and they responded in the best possible way,” Mol said.

Verstappen and Hamilton’s rivalry continues in the battle for the 2021 World Championship, with Mol saying it’s not the rivalry that the Dutch don’t like but rather a particular phrase Hamilton uses.

“After Silverstone, there were more people who said he was villain-ish but honestly it wasn’t too bad… but that’s what it is when you have a rivalry between drivers you always have one side and another side,” Mol said.

“I think the perspective in Holland is that people know that Lewis is a respected champion, I honestly have to say that the thing that the Dutch people dislike most about Lewis is his first sentence out of the car, ‘this is the best crowd I’ve seen’… but, Max has made Lewis better this year,” he continued.

The podcast is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts platforms.