Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull and Mercedes both played an equal part in his increased rivalry with Lewis Hamilton.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was involved in an intense rivalry with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 season. He ultimately came out as a winner of the fierce rivalry at the controversial Abu Dhabi GP.
However, the Dutchman feels that their respective teams played a crucial part in the increased rivalry between Verstappen and Hamilton.
Last year the atmosphere between Red Bull and Mercedes was grim throughout the season. As per the GP blog, this was largely due to the behaviour of team bosses Toto Wolff and Christian Horner.
A psychological war erupted between the two team bosses and that had a huge impact on the drivers and the fans around the globe.
Verstappen clarified, “It was not only between the drivers but also between the two teams.”
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Max Verstappen feels natural to race against Charles Leclerc
In contrast to the Dutchman’s last year’s rivalry with the seven-time world champion, this year’s rivalry with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc seems pretty calm so far.
Verstappen said, “We have a lot of respect for each other. If the other has done a good job, of course, you can say that.”
Furthermore, talking about how it might turn out to be as the season proceeds, the Dutchman said, “If it is, maybe it will be a bit different. We’ll see, maybe at the end of the year.”
Moreover, the Red Bull driver explained that he is battling the Monegasque in a different way than he did with Hamilton.
He explained it “feels natural” to race against the Monegasque. “Every driver is different, in the way they attack or defend. That’s why you always have to go into the fight in a unique way,” Verstappen said.
He added: “It feels natural to compete against drivers that I have competed against in the past in karts and have now come to F1.
“In particular Charles; it’s nice to see that we are two young guys competing for victories – we’ve fought some nice duels so far.
“I’m [also] happy that my friend [Carlos] Sainz is now driving a competitive Ferrari after we made our debut together in 2015.”
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