The rivalry between Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is well-known throughout the F1 circuit. In the turbo-hybrid era, there was no stopping Lewis Hamilton, and it is the same status as Max Verstappen in the cost cap era. The Briton went on to win six championships for Mercedes in addition to his one championship victory for McLaren in 2008. The Dutchman waited for his time to come, and it came at last in 2021. Max Verstappen is lucky to be part of Red Bull during a time when they have the fastest car on the grid. Lewis Hamilton is a bit unlucky as his team engineers are facing a heck of trouble since a budget limit was introduced in the development process of the cars.
Since last year., Lewis Hamilton has not been able to win a single race. On the contrary, his teammate George Russell won his maiden Grand Prix last year in Brazil. On the other hand, Max Verstappen cruised to his back-to-back world championship victories. After the first three races of the current season, it seems Max will win his third world championship in a row. Amid this different current status of the two rivals, a new dissimilarity has come to light.
Clarkson And Hill Feels Max Verstappen Is “Ruthless”
Tom Clarkson, the host of FIA Press Conferences, mentioned, “Verstappen is more ruthless than Hamilton or Schumacher.” Even the 1996 world champion Damon Hill suggests the same. Both Hill and Clarkson agreed that Verstappen’s hunger to win is pretty unique. There have been a lot of greats of F1 motorsport who had an immense passion for winning, like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. But there is something different about how Max Verstappen approaches every race.
Hill and Clarkson suggest that leads to a bit selfish attitude towards the race for the Dutchman. Both experts believe Max Verstappen does not think twice if he has to destroy his opponents in a race. Like the Grand Prix in Saudia Arabia, where he came second. Max Verstappen was so upset with himself when he mentioned, “I’m not here to finish second.” Regarding that, Damon Hill and Tom Clarkson argue that in Max’s place, other drivers would enjoy the satisfaction after the success and says that it was a great weekend. But Max is different.
Max’s Parents Are Responsible For Their Son Being So Ruthless
Later the two experts conclude that the unquenchable thirst for winning every race comes from Max’s parents. Both parents have been professional racers in their time. Especially Jos Verstappen, the father of the reigning champion, appeared in more than a hundred Grand Prix from the early 90s to the early 2000s. Max Verstappen has been taught well by his father, Jos, to become tough to win races. That’s what he has been following ever since.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are also competitive, but they don’t drive to a certain extent, selfishly like Max Verstappen. They like to do what is best for their team. But as it turns out, that is not how Verstappen plans on his weekends. Max’s toughness is not letting him have great chemistry with his teammate, Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez. Checo won the race in Jeddah but could not get the extra point for the fastest lap. As Max Verstappen snatched away that opportunity from his teammate.