Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been involved in plenty of action on the track in recent times and it is perhaps the biggest rivalry currently present in F1.
The nature in which the 2021 championship ended undoubtedly added an extra layer of flavour to their rivalry and although Hamilton failed to win a single race in the following season, it appears like Max is still keeping a tab on him.
This was Hamilton’s worst season in F1, but it had a lot to do with Mercedes’ struggles as well.
Verstappen still feels Hamilton is a worthy challenger, though, and feels that the seven-time world champion could be challenging him for top honours soon enough.
Max’s comment came in response to a recent interview which featured Hamilton where the British driver spoke of his respect for the Dutchman, but conceded that he is unsure the feeling is mutual.
Two-time world champion Verstappen, however, was quick to ease any such doubts that Hamilton may have had and paid him a rich compliment, albeit with a cheeky undertone.
“He’s been one of the greatest drivers ever in the sport, so for sure if he has the car to do it, he can fight for the title again,” Verstappen said.
Max not confident about winning in 2023
Red Bull has had to face a couple of challenges during the off-season.
The team faced a FIA sanction due to its overspending which meant that its wind tunnel time was reduced by 10%.
In a sport of small margins, that is a massive deterrent to the Austrian outfit, despite its dominance in 2022.
This has led Max to feel that any chances of winning a third successive drivers’ title will not be straightforward by any stretch of the imagination.
“You always try to go for the championship win, but I don’t know if we’re going to be good enough,” he said.
“Of course as a team we believe we are, we are very motivated, we come off the back of a very strong year and we are working flat out to try and achieve that.”