Lewis Hamilton has spoken candidly about his rivalry with Max Verstappen in a new interview.
The two biggest stars of Formula 1 have shared the grid for many years now, but it was only in 2021 that their rivalry truly began to ramp up. Within just a few races, it became clear that they were in a class about everyone else in the sport that year.
Between them, Hamilton and Verstappen won all but four races out of 22 that year and contested a tight battle for the championship. Especially later in the season, as the pressure ramped up, there were several on-track flashpoints between them as they gave everything to beat each other.
Verstappen came out on top in the end, but the controversial way in which the Dutchman – through no fault of his own – won the title only made things more sour. And even though they were not direct rivals last year with Mercedes well off the pace, the tension between them continued.
Even though they both rarely waste an opportunity to take a pop at each other in press conferences and interviews, Hamilton's latest comments on their relationship were more diplomatic. He insists that he has no part in any bad blood between them.
"People like to talk about there being problems between Max and me," he told Formu1e.nl. "I respect him. He is a lot younger, so maybe he has a problem with me. But I am not sure about that and I actually assume not. Although I can't speak for him.
"He did everything he had to do in 2021, so why should I have a problem with him? He performed and delivered every weekend, nobody can take that away from him."
While Hamilton was not competition for Verstappen last year as he stormed to the title, the Dutchman still mentioned his British rival on a few occasions. One of the most recent came towards the end of last season, when he pointed out that the seven-time world champion seems to go out of his way to avoid saying his name.
"People have told me that he doesn't use my name," Verstappen mused. "I was always taught that you have to respect what people have achieved in sport. I have no problem with what Lewis has achieved. He is one of the best ever."
