Verstappen responds: Hamilton wasn't saying this when he was winning

Max Verstappen has issued a response to Lewis Hamilton's suggestion of limiting Formula 1 car development time in a bid to bunch up the teams and increase competitiveness in the sport.

Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton suggested a potential tweak to the regulations to prevent teams from working early on next season's car.

The Mercedes driver believes that Red Bull's advantage in 2023 is so big that the Milton Keynes team have already switched focus to the 2024 car, whilst Mercedes are likely to continue development and be locked into a season-long battle with the likes of Aston Martin and Ferrari.

The Briton proposed that Formula 1 teams should be given the same start date for working on the following season's car, and suggested a start date of August 1st.

When Hamilton's comments were initially put to Verstappen in the Thursday press conference, the championship leader simply responded: "Life is unfair as well, it is not only in Formula 1.

"A lot of things in life are unfair, so you just have to deal with it."

When quizzed further by Dutch media, including RacingNews365, Verstappen believed that Hamilton's complaints were "normal" from teams which are not enjoying any kind of competitive advantage.

"Hamilton never said that when he was winning, then we shouldn't do that now either," said Verstappen.

"This is just how Formula 1 works."

"With a competitive car, everything is great and then you can already look ahead to next year.

"For the people behind the frontrunner, to say these things is normal. You have to remember that when [Mercedes] were winning, others were also saying things like this."