“He was absolutely finished”– Max Verstappen’s mom reveals how competition with Lewis Hamilton affected mental health of 2021 world champion
Max Verstappen’s mom Sophie Kumpen reveals how competition with Lewis Hamilton in 2021 affected her son’s mental health.
The 2021 season gave a historic competition between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for the championship. The battle between the two drivers went on till the end of the wire and brought both the drivers to the edge.
Former teammates and rivals of Hamilton have confessed it’s mentally draining to compete with Hamilton when he’s at his peak. It has also propelled former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg right after he won his maiden championship in 2016.
Thus, it was obvious that with W12, Hamilton wouldn’t go down easily no matter how good Verstappen performs. Nevertheless, the Dutchman won his first championship in 2021, despite all the controversy around the last year’s Abu Dhabi GP.
Karun Chandhok takes a look back at the opening lap of the 2021 British GP, where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton touched and sent the Dutchman heavily into the barriers. pic.twitter.com/91S6r7sBmg
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 1, 2022
However, the aftermath of it wasn’t easy for him. Verstappen’s mother Sophie Kumpen reveals how drained the Red Bull star was when he reached her home after the season end.
“He came to my place a few days after he won,” said Kumpen. “And he was absolutely finished. He was exhausted mentally and he just wanted to be at home.”
“I made his comfort food and we had a nice few quite days together,” she added. Verstappen even confessed that if he has to compete like this for long in F1, he might not be able to continue for long.
Also read: Austrian GP 2022 Weather Forecast: How is the weather at Red Bull Ring ahead of Austrian Grand Prix?
The 2022 season is so far going easy for Max Verstappen
The 2022 season has been quite pleasant for Verstappen except for the initial few races. He is leading the standings with a considerable lead of 34 points against his teammate, Sergio Perez, who is right behind him in the order.
On the other hand, Hamilton this year struggled quite a bit with W13, and couldn’t make himself a contender in the title race so far. At the beginning of the season, he also confessed that he counts himself out of the title race.
But with recent improvements in Mercedes’ floor, he is back at the podiums. Thus, in the next few races, he could possibly be back at competing against Verstappen.
Meanwhile, Ferrari also has a brilliant car this year, with Charles Leclerc looking promising when he won two races out of the first three races this year.
But since then, the Maranello-based team has been disastrous with its strategies. That allowed Red Bull to capitalize on their chances and take away as many points and have a commanding grip on the title fight.
About the author
-
Somin Bhattacharjee •
How Miami amassed $350 Million from F1 race in 2022
-
Utkarsh Bhatla •
McLaren confirm livery colour for 2019 season
-
Naman Gopal Srivastava •
Who Will Replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes? – All the Drivers Who Have Been Linked to Replace the 7x World Champion
-
Tanish Chachra •
Lando Norris Reveals How He Would Have Reacted if Someone Had Broken His $66,000 F1 Win Trophy
-
Somin Bhattacharjee •
Max Verstappen Has Had Enough With F1: “What Are You Trying to Sell?”
-
Tejas Venkatesh •
$600 Million Rich Michael Schumacher Was Caught Driving a Minivan in Bizarre $160 Situation Including a Taxi and a Delayed Flight