Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are one of the exciting F1 arch-rivals whose rivalry came to the limelight in the year 2021. The 25-year-old current two-time F1 champion broke the 38-year-old seven-time champion’s winning streak that year. From 2014 till 2021, Mercedes dominated the grid because of one racer, none other than Sir Lewis Hamilton. Before his time with the Silver Arrows, he had won a championship in 2008 with McLaren. But after joining Mercedes, he won six more. Not only that, Hamilton was on his way to becoming the first F1 driver to win eight world championships in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. But everything changed during the final lap of that Grand Prix as Max Verstappen beat the then-reigning champion. He became the new world champion.
Since then, he has never looked back. Verstappen won back-to-back world championships. Last year he won a record 15 races to win the title. Moreover, this year, the Red Bull driver has already won four out of six races already. And looks like he is on his way to breaking his own record. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton lost his grip on the title contention primarily because of the poor Mercedes car. But he is not giving up just yet, as he is eagerly waiting to win the coveted eighth world title. But it does not look very easy as long as Max is in such top form. That is the level of fierce competition between the two. But outside the track, there is a lot of mutual respect between the two.
Max Verstappen Praised His Seven-Time Champion Rival
Recently the Red Bull ace gave an interview with Robb Report, where the records he has broken so far and is about to break in the future. But when Robb asked about breaking Lewis Hamilton’s record of seven world titles, Max Verstappen gave a shocking reply. As he stated, “Lewis Hamilton does not need to look over his shoulder as he has achieved so much in life and his career.” Verstappen has won 39 races already and closing in on the 103 wins of Hamilton. Nobody has won more races than the seven-time champion of the Brackley team in the history of the sport. But talking about breaking his records, Max mentioned, “I don’t live for that. I live in the present. Try to enjoy every moment. Luck can change quickly. Moreover, it depends on who has the best car?”
Likewise, on many platforms, Lewis Hamilton stated that “Max is too hard and fast to beat at present.” It is good to see when two greats or rivals of a sport have such respect for each other, like Lionel Messi-Christiano Ronaldo or perhaps Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal. It is no doubt that such rivalry always attracts a lot of fans. The excitement about the sport skyrockets when there are such champion rivals. Moreover, it is not new for Formula One as it has exciting rivalry in different generations, for instance, Niki Lauda and James Hunt, Ayrton Senna, and Alain Prost. Finally, today F1 fans can enjoy the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Unfortunately, the German manufacturing team is somehow not able to provide him with a car that wins races since the cost-cap era started. Apparently, the last race Lewis Hamilton won was the penultimate race of the 2021 F1 season at the Saudia Arabian Grand Prix. And this year, the closest he came to winning was at the Australian Grand Prix when he finished at P2. It was the first and only podium finish for Mercedes up till now this season. However, with the introduction of the new upgrades at Monaco GP, a little ray of hope has ignited for the drivers, the team as well as the fans around the world.