“Lewis [Hamilton] just feels threatened by Max”– Max Verstappen’s father highlights insecurity of seven-time world champion after Red Bull ace challenged him

“Lewis [Hamilton] just feels threatened by Max”– Jos Verstappen mentioned that the seven-time world champion is threatened by his son.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are the two protagonists of this year’s championship fight. The competition between them has been more intense than seen in the last five years.

So, the hostility between them is at an all-time peak. However, Verstappen’s entourage started to make sly digs at Hamilton back in 2019, when his father, Jos Verstappen, first criticized the Briton.

After the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix, Jos said Hamilton was threatened by his son. He told Ziggo Sport: “I know what it is. Lewis just feels threatened by Max. Let’s get a good car next year. Then we’ll see. Max is in their head and you can tell by everything.”

The comments by Verstappen Snr. were made after Hamilton criticized the Red Bull ace for clashing with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas at the 2019 US Grand Prix.

Hamilton said after the incident: “I spoke to Max even before the race, and I was like, ‘Dude, you’re such a great racer, man. Let’s squash whatever there is between us because it’s just fake; it’s nothing. Whatever beef [there is], let’s get rid of it. Let’s go out there and have a great race’.

“He’s a champion of the future and I’m going to work as hard as I can to stop that happening for a while, but I’m enjoying racing with him.”

The competition has only soured

This year, Verstappen and Hamilton have already clashed twice, and those moments are undoubtedly defining moments of this year’s championship race.

The two events have also compelled Red Bull and Mercedes’ leadership to spew words against each other. Moreover, at times even the two drivers have been vocal about their resentments.

Glad I’m ok. Very disappointed with being taken out like this. The penalty given does not help us and doesn’t do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track. Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behavior but we move on pic.twitter.com/iCrgyYWYkm

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 18, 2021

So overall, it has been a blockbuster show, as the championship remains far from unresolved with only seven races to go in the season.

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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