Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s rivalry will be remembered for ages. A showdown finale, teams and bosses involved, several intense clashes and crashes, it had it all in 2021. And though it peaked then, it will never really die, as we saw in Brazil this year. 

Max Verstappen knows how to keep the pressure up. And Lewis’ experience helped the Briton deal with it as Max attacked. Despite the severe heat between them, the two are a perfect match on the grid and have helped each other push the boundaries. 

And this rivalry between Verstappen and Hamilton, according to former F1 driver Robert Doornbos, can be attributed to Jos Verstappen, the father of Max. Robert, while speaking with Dutch GP Fans and quoted by the Express, believes the fighting and daring skills have been taught by Jos to Max. He said, “I think that is Jos’s education. It doesn’t matter who you’re fighting with, it’s fighting for position and there can only be one winner. And Max understands that game very well.”

Doornbos also confessed to having liked the battles between Max and Lewis more. He justified himself by saying, “Look, because you just see that it really is the king of the sport (Hamilton), who may be dethroning himself, against the new king (Verstappen) who is coming. Max showed really clearly: ‘I’m here and wheel-to-wheel battles, I’m not impressed by that, whoever you are’. And that must also be the mindset.”

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After seeing a glimpse of Verstappen and Charles Leclerc going up against each other in the season opener in Bahrain, we expected something similar. But it did not come true. And while it started off the same in the case of Verstappen and Leclerc as well, it changed quickly. Neither was there any exchange of backhanded comments or on-track clashes as severe as those between Lewis and Max in 2021.   

Max Verstappen’s pressure on Charles Leclerc

The battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc in the early stages was a sight to behold. The two went wheel to wheel in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and more. But this seemed to have faded later on as Max ran away with the wins and the title.

Comparing the two drivers and the competition between them, Doornbos suggested Leclerc needs to perform better under pressure.

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He said, “That is not to the detriment of Leclerc, I think he is a very talented driver, but he may leave a little more margin. He is a bit more concerned with ‘It’s Max Verstappen, I can’t make a mistake, because I drive for Ferrari’. You also saw when he looked in his mirrors to see where Max was, he immediately made a braking error afterward.”

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Ferrari got under Red Bull’s pressure in 2022, some of which might have transferred to Leclerc as well. Do you think Leclerc needs to perform better under pressure? Can he compete at a similar level against Max, just like Lewis in 2021?