Max Verstappen explains reasons for Lewis Hamilton problems after ‘hating’ Charles Leclerc

Max Verstappen makes subtle dig at Lewis Hamilton in April

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Max Verstappen has claimed the on-track issues that tainted his title race with Lewis Hamilton were due to the pair not knowing each other’s driving style well enough. The reigning world champion was just 17 when he made his F1 debut in 2015, by which time Hamilton had been in the sport for eight seasons.

But it wasn’t until 2021 when any kind of rivalry came to fruition, as the pair became embroiled in a tempestuous battle for he Championship. And things intensified after the British Grand Prix as the pair clashed at Copse at Silverstone, with Verstappen left needing hospital treatment after careering into the wall.

Later that year at Monza, another collision saw Verstappen’s Red Bull land on top of his rival’s car, with only the British driver’s halo saving him from a sickening head collision. There was further controversy at the penultimate race in Saudi Arabia, with the two drivers again making contact on multiple occasions.

This season, it was Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc who was pushing the Dutchman for much of the early going, renewing a rivalry which dates back when the pair competed against each other as 12-year-olds in karting. Leclerc had previously said their rivalry on track reached the stage where “we hated each other at one point because very often it didn’t end in the best way possible”.

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However, there has been no such volatility in Grands Prix this year, even in the season opener in Bahrain where the two passed each other several times in a dramatic affair. And Verstappen suggests that their past has led to an on-track understanding he does not share with Mercedes man Hamilton.

“It’s all about margins, how much you respect each other on track,” he told the Guardian. “I know Charles for a long period of time, I have raced a lot more against him so I guess we understand each other a bit better.”

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There hasn’t been the same hostility between Verstappen and Hamilton in this campaign, given the latter has been struggling to simply compete given the problems with his W13 car. Leclerc meanwhile, has slipped back in the standings, and now trails the Red Bull man by 43 points.

But the leader insisted it makes no difference to him who his main title rival is, adding: “I don’t mind as long as I come out on top. That’s the most important feeling. There are a lot of good drivers in F1 and when you are battling them it’s a lot of fun.”

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