Max Verstappen always had respect for Lewis Hamilton but never was in awe of him, reveals Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
In 2021, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen had an incredible tussle for the championship. The two vied for the prestigious reward until the final lap, and in the end, Verstappen came up victorious.
Before Hamilton stepped foot in Formula 1, Hamilton was way successful in the field. And by the time Verstappen properly challenged for a title, Hamilton had already won seven. So, the contrast between the two was massive.
Yet, it didn’t affect the Dutchman. In the latest episode of Beyond The Grid, Christian Horner revealed that Verstappen always respected Hamilton but was never in awe of him.
“You can’t not respect everything Lewis has done and achieved, it’s quite remarkable and maybe never to be bettered. But everybody is beatable at some point in time and Max had respect for him,” said Horner.
“But he wasn’t in awe of him. He wasn’t afraid of them, he relished going up against him and the opportunity to go wheel-to-wheel racing with him.”
“He believed that he could beat him, and it was that inner belief and self-confidence that we saw on so many occasions come through,” he added.
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Max Verstappen is inching closer to glory
In 2022, things have been far easier for Verstappen. Initially, it was thought Charles Leclerc with Ferrari would give a good run to the Dutchman, and the championship could go down to the wire.
However, questionable strategies by Ferrari and reliability issues forced Leclerc to lose several points. Now, his rival enjoys a considerable lead of 116 points.
If Leclerc has a poor race in Singapore and falls below P7 and Verstappen wins the race, the title will officially go to the latter. So, the title race can end by the next weekend.
The successive championship victories by Verstappen would bring him along among all-time greats. He is already overtaking all the legends in the list of most wins. By the time Verstappen stops, who knows, maybe he will get better off Hamilton.
