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‘I’ve never heard Lewis Hamilton recognize Max Verstappen’s ability’: Red Bull chief Christian Horner believes the British star was ‘upset’ by his arch-rival during their tense title battle last year
- Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton battled furiously for the F1 title in 2021
- The intensity of the rivalry soared during the controversial season
- Christian Horner thinks there is more respect for Max Verstappen this year
- Red Bull chief referred to the Dutchman’s battles with Charles Leclerc
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Christian Horner has claimed he has never heard Lewis Hamilton praise the net worth of his arch-rival Max Verstappen.
The pair were involved in one of the most tense and toxic battles for the Formula 1 World Championship last season, one in which the Dutchman took the title under controversial circumstances at the final race in Abu Dhabi.
While the title fell in favor of the Red Bull star due to infamous safety car decisions that disabled Hamilton, the season had already seen a host of incidents that only heightened the tension between two of F1’s best stars. .
Christian Horner (left) believes Max Verstappen (right) has not been recognized for his racing talents by his arch-rival Lewis Hamilton
The pair collided on lap one at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, knocking Verstappen out of the race, while another crash at Monza ahead of the Italian Grand Prix resulted in both cars being retired.
Verstappen was then accused of braking his rival in Saudi Arabia late in the season and there were numerous incidents where the duo pushed the boundaries as they caught up with each other throughout the season.
It marks a contrast to this campaign where Mercedes’ inability to challenge Red Bull has allowed Verstappen to hike to likely consecutive titles.
Hamilton and Verstappen battled furiously for the world championship last season
But Mercedes and Hamilton have rarely been able to challenge Verstappen this season
Verstappen was challenged early on by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but despite also dueling hard on the track, Horner believes their years of racing against each other in the past helped build a healthy respect for each other’s talents.
“You know, there’s a difference, maybe there’s a different respect to Charles,” Horner said at the… Beyond the grid podcasting.
‘Since then they played against each other’ [being] children, and there was mutual respect. I’ve never heard Lewis recognize Max’s talent.
“And of course there was just a little more needle in it and you felt that, and you felt that between those two drivers.”
Horner thinks there is more race respect between Charles Leclerc (left) and Verstappen
Horner also believes that much of last year’s championship battle was psychological and that it affected the seven-time world champion more than Verstappen.
“I think arguably, maybe more in Lewis’ head,” he added.
“Being the seven-time world champion who has everything to lose, Max is the young boy who takes risks, gives everything and has nothing to lose.
“Some of his overtakes last year were amazing and you could feel Lewis starting to rattle, I think.”
Hamilton was ‘beaten’ by Verstappen last season according to the Red Bull chief
Verstappen and Hamilton battled furiously on the track, including at the Italian Grand Prix, where a collision at Monza knocked both cars out of the race
Horner then referred back to the infamous crash at Silverstone, where Verstappen and Hamilton battled furiously for position on lap one before Hamilton crashed into his rival, allowing him to win in front of his home fans as Verstappen spun away at high speed into a barrier that saw him face off. be taken to hospital.
“After Lewis qualified on pole at Silverstone and Max won the sprint race, we definitely saw that he was a bit broken after the sprint race,” he continued.
‘Had Max Copse met’ [corner]I don’t think they would have seen him that afternoon, so there was also an air of despair.
“There was a lot at stake and your emotions are running high, but it probably affected Lewis more than Max because, as I said, he had more to lose than Max. Max had everything to gain.’