“He’s Trying His Best”: Tyson Fury Stood in “Bad Boy” Max Verstappen’s Corner Against F1 Heavyweight Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton won the world championship 4 times in a row before 2021. He looked all set to win for the 5th time on the trot only for Max Verstappen to take that away from him in one of the most thrilling final-day finishes in F1 history.

While Jeddah in 2021 was not the start of their rivalry, it surely looked one fitting tribute to its fierce and competitive nature. The pair have been regularly locking horns since the young Dutchman burst onto the scene. One can think of Malaysia in 2017 or Bahrain in 2018 when it comes to their battles.

Jeddah saw them battling for the top spot on multiple occasions. With it being the penultimate race of the season, the stakes were sky high. An obvious and logical consequence was flaring tempers. Some fans and media chose to find blame with Verstappen.

However, siding with the Dutchman, professional boxer, Tyson Fury, put up a story, saying “…and how Max [Verstappen] is being made out to be a bit of a bad boy in the media.”

He further goes on to add, “I know how it feels to be trapped horribly by the media. It is not nice. Especially when you’re young and you’re ambitious and you want to win. So you know, give him a bit of a break…”

By saying so, The Gypsy King came to Verstappen’s defense and arguably stood up to the Media as well as the Hamilton stans.

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As Fury points out, elite sports are always awash with rivalries. People want to be the best and want to win against the best. It is not a personal grudge that they carry; it is simply the drive to be the best. F1 has seen its share of such ferocious rivalries in the past as well.

Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton is the new Lauda vs. Hunt

F1 history has its share of great rivalries. Alain Prost v Ayrton Senna; Michael Schumacher v Mika Hakkinen; and James Hunt v Niki Lauda. Hunt and Lauda were generational talents, hungry to prove themselves in the F1 world. Although fiercely competitive, they were great friends off the tracks by their own admission.

And arguably the same can be stated for Verstappen and Hamilton.

“We have a lot of common in a sense of how much we love doing what we do and driving, then on the other side we’re ruthless. He is ruthless, I am. We are fighters out there, there’s no friends on track” says Hamilton when asked about Verstappen.

“But I think what’s really important is that we’re human beings and that we do keep respect”, he added.

While Hamilton had been reigning the field for years, Verstappen came and dethroned him in 2021. Verstappen has a youthful hunger and urge, while Hamilton has the instinct to protect his hegemony.

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F1 is about fighting to be the best. Hence, rivalries were a part of F1 and will remain to be. Without these rivalries, it wouldn’t be the spectacle it is. It is truly fortuitous that fans have this rivalry to look forward to. The one at hand can possibly be the greatest rivalry F1 has witnessed.