Victory after victory, pole position after pole position, Lewis Hamilton, 7 times world champion and reigning champion is breaking all records and writing the history of Formula 1, restoring the faith of those who thought that this sport would never have anyone of the calibre of the champions of the past.

Times have changed, of course, but the British driver has proved to be a phenomenon, responding to the critics of his detractors who continue to say that he's only winning thanks to his very fast car, even if this 2021 season has at least shown that Red Bull is a serious and threatening opponent, and that Lewis has, for now, managed to handle it very well.

Hamilton has won three of the four races of this 2021 championship, moving forward in the close battle with Max Verstappen. According to Motorsport.com, Ricciardo says the Brit is proving how good he is against Verstappen..

“A lot of people are probably tipping their hat to Lewis,” said Ricciardo during the McLaren unveiling event of the new Gulf livery that we will see, starting from Thursday, for this week's Monaco Grand Prix.

“He's getting it dished back at him and he's holding his ground. And, I guess, showing people that maybe doubted him, why he is as good as he is,” the Aussie said.

He also gave his opinion about the Hamilton-Verstappen tight battle:

“At this stage, you'd always, I guess, take experience," - he added - “So if it was really down to the wire, then I think Lewis has showed some strong signs. But then again, if there's a gap, Max goes for it. That's why obviously I respect Max a lot.”

Ricciardo also commented on Hamilton’s latest statements, who explained that he was able to carefully study the rival for the title during the initial phase of the Spanish GP:

“If it had been in qualifying, then he would have been able to see a different line that Max may be taking, or something like that,” said the Australian.

“So maybe that could be just a little bit of a comment to like, get some shout about nothing. Maybe it is a bit of a way to engage in some mind games, but, in saying that, you can learn a little bit. You do know if someone's rattle when you're the hunter," he stated.

“You can tell if, and I'm not saying this was that situation, but particularly pre-F1, when you’re stalking someone, you can see when they're starting to slide the car more, lock a brake, or drop a wheel here."

“We obviously can't see them, but if you picture them without a helmet on, in that moment, their expressions would be tense."

“Perhaps he's referring to that. And maybe Max was like erratic. I don't know, but could just be something that's nothing,” the Australian concluded.