The rivalry with Lewis Hamilton puts Max Verstappen and Red Bull under “a lot of pressure”.

The rivalry with Lewis Hamilton has put “a lot of pressure” on Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team, the Dutchman has confessed. Verstappen spoke after his first world title in an interview with Sky F1 at the Red Bull factory.

When asked to reflect on his struggles with the seven-time world champion, the 24-year-old said:

“Well I think it’s great for the sport. I had a great battle with Lewis (Hamilton) all season and of course we came together but at the end of the day we respect each other a lot as drivers.”

Max Verstappen quickly realized his fight would be nothing without the work of the entire Red Bull team.

The newly crowned 2021 World Champion added:

“… The way we pushed each other to the limit at every race, but also with the car. But also the team, they always had to be perfect. Or try to be perfect. And that brings a lot of pressure and stress for everyone and I find that extraordinary. Because I’ve had seasons where I’ve been on the podium, but I wasn’t really tired because there wasn’t anything to push for. They were too far away for me and I was pretty comfortable with that or whatever. So having a season like this was pretty intense.”

In 2021, Max Verstappen faced Lewis Hamilton. Despite not having a car as fast as the Mercedes W12, the Dutchman ended the year with more wins and podiums than his title rival. This consistent performance throughout the season ultimately made the difference in the title fight with Hamilton.

The rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is “a bit like between Senna and Prost,” says David Coulthard

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s rivalry has been compared to that of David Coulthard between F1 legends Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

The former F1 driver-turned-TV pundit was Ayrton Senna’s test driver at Williams and had seen the Brazilian at the peak of his powers against Alain Prost in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Coulthard had this to say about the intense rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in 2021:

“It’s a remarkable situation, a remarkable championship. And I’m kinda wondering how we saw it with Prost and Senna, who weren’t even in the same room at one point and then got together. If you remember Ayrton’s last win, he called Alain to the podium in Adelaide and they, from what I understand, ended up with as much racing respect, although at one point they didn’t like each other.

Like last season’s two contenders, Senna and Prost had some major incidents that decided the world title, most notably in 1989 and 1990, both times at the Japanese Grand Prix.

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However, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will need a few more chapters in their rivalry if they are to be put on par with Senna-Prost.

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