Athletes in every greatest sports rivalry tend to credit their biggest adversary for pushing them to another level. To an extent, they never imagined and were allowed to touch the biggest heights.
Cristiano Ronaldo credits Lionel Messi for making him a better footballer. The Argentine footballer feels the same. And who can forget how special Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s rivalry was?
But coming to Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s rivalry, it’s more similar to the rivalry between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. The Lakers legend was once beaten and trash-talked by MJ, propelling Bryant to remain in oblivion for two weeks before he smashed 55 points against probably the greatest basketball player of all time.
Also read: Tom Coronel believes F1 Legend lacked competition, had easier teammates
Lewis Hamilton didn’t make me better
However, Verstappen doesn’t feel the same about his biggest adversary in F1- Hamilton. When asked whether Hamilton pushed him to another level like Federer often claims Nadal did, citing the two F1 drivers’ competition for the 2021 title.
In response, Verstappen said: “I don’t know, for sure you push yourself even more to the edge. But it’s always important, and even my dad told me you don’t need anyone else to push yourself to the limit. You should always push yourself and ask yourself how you can I be better. So I don’t think anyone else pushed me to another level.”
Verstappen further said it was indeed a great competition and maybe it gave minor improvements in terms of performance. However, he clarifies he himself tries to reach that level without any external force and finds a tenth of a second improvement in his drive.
Max Verstappen was tired of 2021
While Verstappen thinks that Hamilton didn’t help him get any better, he was surely exhausted by the competition’s level. He even claimed after the 2021 season that if he goes through this much stress every year, he may retire early.
Thus, it speaks of how incredible the fight for the title was between the two drivers. Although, this season, Verstappen saw his title victory in a very relaxed way as he cemented his 2022 championship with four races remaining in the season.
Hamilton’s Mercedes dipped in their performative level this year and is yet to register even one victory. The Silver Arrows are aiming to have a powerful campaign in 2023.
Also read: With $200 Million net worth Max Verstappen becomes youngest ever among 500 richest Dutch people
