“I remember what it was like when I had my first”– Lewis Hamilton claims first title pressure would be impacting Max Verstappen immensely

Tanish Chachra | 23/09/2021
"I remember what it was like when I had my first"– Lewis Hamilton claims first title pressure would be impacting Max Verstappen immensely

“I remember what it was like when I had my first”– Lewis Hamilton claims Max Verstappen would have an impact from first title pressure.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are vying for the 2021 world championship. The Dutchman is currently leading the standings against the seven-time world champion by five points.

While the competition is still open, Hamilton claims that the pressure of the first championship would be impacting Verstappen, even if he isn’t showing.

“Obviously he won’t admit to it, and I’m not going to make an assumption, but I remember what it was like when I had my first [title fight] and it definitely mounted up,” said the Briton.

“It was difficult. It was intense. I was going through a lot of different emotions, and I didn’t always handle it the best. And that’s to be expected.”

“There’s a lot of pressure: you’re working in a big team. There’s a lot of self expectation and pressure because the desire to win is huge. So I empathise and understand that. But I know that we will continue to grow from this.”

Experience matters in wheel-to-wheel battles

Hamilton, then reflecting on the Monza collision, talks about the importance of experience in handling such wheel-to-wheel battles, especially when deciding whether to continue the fight going into the corner.

“We all have to be smart and know that there is a time where you’re not going to make a corner, and it’s all about making sure you live to fight the next corner,” he said.

“And it’s really kind of just through experience you find that balance, and you know that it’s not all won on one corner. As I said, I know what it’s like having your first fight for your first championship, and your eagerness.”

“And you go through lots of different experiences and emotions during that time.”

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Mercedes Red Bull

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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