Prost names Hamilton's 'most dangerous rivals'

Feb.11 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s “most dangerous rivals” for 2020 drive for Red Bull and Ferrari.

That is the view of F1 legend Alain Prost, now a key advisor at the works Renault team.

“The most complete driver right now is Hamilton,” he is quoted by Le Parisien, “because he has experience and is with a strong team.

“But Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have excellent prospects,” Prost added. “They are the most dangerous rivals for Lewis.”

The conventional wisdom heading into 2020 is that Red Bull’s Verstappen could challenge Hamilton the hardest, but Prost is not so sure.

“Verstappen needs to calm himself a little more,” said the Frenchman. “He lacks a bit of composure in certain moments, but when he has that and has a good car, he will be hard to beat.”

Prost also spoke about Renault’s new recruit for 2020 – the Mercedes-managed fellow Frenchman Esteban Ocon.

“He just had an unintended sabbatical, but it’s an experience,” he said. “It will give him a little maturity.

“Many French drivers are in a similar situation to him. There is more and more money in the world, but not here (in France),” added Prost.

Renault recently announced its 2020 launch date as February 12 – Wednesday – but the team has now clarified that the new car will not be “physically present” at the event.

“We normally display a show car,” said a spokesman, “but we chose not to this year. We’d rather wait a few more days and show the real car.”