Reuters
Formula One F1 – United States Grand Prix – Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, U.S. – October 24, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium after winning the race with second place Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Reuters
Formula One F1 – United States Grand Prix – Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, U.S. – October 24, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium after winning the race with second place Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton REUTERS/Brian Snyder
The 2021 Formula One season spurred a lot of debate over the driving style of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was quite aggressive against Lewis Hamilton throughout the season. He was seen capitalizing on any opportunity that he felt was there for the take.
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Sometimes, Hamilton had to yield in order to avoid a potentially awful consequence. Consider, Brazil and Imola for instance. However, there were a couple of moments at Silverstone and Monza where neither of them gave up, which ultimately led to collisions.
Reuters
Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 12, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates winning the race and the world championship with the Netherlands flag on the podium as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton looks on after finishing second REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Hence, this led many F1 fans to question Verstappen’s allegedly unfair racing against his rival. Interestingly, former F1 driver, David Coulthard, isn’t one of them. The Briton opined that Verstappen was indeed impressive in his championship-winning battle against the 7-time world champion.
Verstappen was always hunting for a gap to pounce on, and when he did find one, he went after it. So, Coulthard admitted that, on several occasions, it almost looked like Hamilton was trying to fight a fire.
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Coulthard’s opinion on Lewis Hamilton & Max Verstappen
As reported by Soy Motor, Coulthard opened up that, despite owning seven world championship titles in his pocket, fighting Verstappen was never going to be a walk in the park for Hamilton.
“The way in which Max drives is what seems most impressive to me. In case there is a gap, he goes for it and does not hesitate at all in that regard,” he reportedly told Channel 4.
“When you see how Lewis really defends himself against that, he has had to open the door on more than one occasion, as he has encountered fire. Lewis is an exceptional racing driver. But, how do you fight fire?”
Reuters
Formula One F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – April 18, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in action during the race REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
After having watched Verstappen challenge one of the greatest racing drivers in F1, Coulthard was convinced. He believes that the Dutchman is ‘something special’.
“When I was competing, I used to think if I should risk right now or if I really shouldn’t. In Max’s case, if he sees the cookie, he goes straight for it and takes risks to get it, it really is something special,” he concluded.
Overall, it is likely that there will be a chapter two to the Verstappen-Hamilton rivalry over the upcoming season. But, who is going to rise up as the winner this time around? Only time will tell.
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