The rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen reached new heights when they were fighting neck to neck for the 2021 championship. The fashion in which that battle concluded dampened their relationship. Since then, both drivers took some subtle, and some not-so-subtle digs at each other. Things have become relatively calmer between them ever since Hamilton went largely non-competitive in 2022. Since then, we have seen some attempts at mending fences from both sides. The latest has come from the 7x champion, but for some reason, the fans from the other side aren’t taking too well to it.

Earlier this year, Hamilton ruled out any kind of rivalry with Verstappen. He even praised his adversary for his achievements in the last 2 years. He, however, had some reservations about whether Max felt the same way about him. The Dutchman returned the compliment by dubbing him as “one of the greatest drivers ever in the sport”. The so-called rivalry may not exist for the two enigmatic drivers, but fans have drawn a line among themselves, one which refuses to fade away.

The orange army smells something fishy in Lewis Hamilton’s praise for Max Verstappen

After conquering both F1 championships in the most dominant fashion last year, Verstappen continued the good run in the 2023 season opener in Bahrain. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s dwindling fate continued to take a dive. However, instead of trying to find shortcomings in Red Bull or its drivers, the Briton stressed on the need for others to pull up their socks.

RaceFans recently quoted him as saying, “I think he will be very, very confident.”

“I don’t think he’ll slip up. He’s a world champion and so I wouldn’t question his determination or his focus. I think he will be just as focused as ever, and it’s our job to catch up.”

The rare words of praise left Verstappen’s fans in a puzzled state, wondering what Hamilton’s intentions really were.

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Some expressed their shock with some hilarious memes.

Some fans lauded Hamilton for recognizing Max’s talent instead of continuing the mindless rivalry.

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Do you think there was some sinister intention brewing in the back of Lewis’ head when he made the comments? Was it a genuine wake-up call for other teams to put in more effort to catch the guys in front?