“Still Some Wounds to be Healed” – Former Red Bull Driver Hopes for a Less Intense Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen F1 Rivalry in 2022

Chaos – the one word that perfectly describes the 2021 Formula One season. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton engaged in a physically and mentally draining battle for the championship, only for the former to steal it on the last lap of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Unsurprisingly, this led to an insane uproar amongst the fans, considering both the drivers are backed by massive fan-following. There were arguments all over social media, which eventually forced Hamilton to take a sabbatical from it and celebrate Christmas and New Year with his family.

Now, with both the drivers almost ready to re-ignite their rivalry, former F1 driver, Mark Webber, reckoned that the pair needs a quiet year.

What did Mark Webber say?

As reported by Motorsport, the Australian, who last drove for Red Bull, admitted that Hamilton and Verstappen deserve a peaceful 2022 season as there are wounds still to be healed since the controversy-stricken 2021 season fight.

“This is very difficult, I think we all need a year off. There are still some old wounds that need to be healed,” Webber told World Wide of Sports.

“Maybe they can have a red wine together after their careers. But if they compete with each other, they will continue to be fierce rivals to each other, and that’s what we want in sport.”

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Webber expresses disappointment with Max Verstappen-Lewis Hamilton rivalry

Webber openly confessed that the end result was unfair despite admitting Verstappen to be a deserving champion. “We’re all disappointed that the championship ended like this, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to be. Both deserved to be lifted, but we really didn’t want it to end that way,” he said.

“We wanted a straight fight, a clean fight, and unfortunately there was a man whose hand was tied behind his back. Of course, looking back, everyone will agree that we could have done things differently, but what happened was not the ideal scenario.”

Overall, while Webber hopes for a quiet season between the pair, reality could well have a different story to offer. Amidst already unresolved issues, could Hamilton and Verstappen end up battling for the title for the second straight year?

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