Max Verstappen’s Response to Lewis Hamilton’s Disregard Proves “Mad Max” Is No More

With seven races to go and ten wins already, Max Verstappen is in his most dominant F1 season. The Dutchman won his home Grand Prix after starting from pole but with some uncertainty towards the end.

Following the win, the Red Bull man has extended his championship lead to 109 points over his closest rival. Verstappen is continuing his incredible run from the 2021 season into the current one with utter dominance. However, there’s a feeling the aggressive Dutchman has matured ten folds compared to the previous championship-winning season.

Proof of that is his reply to a question posed to him at the Dutch GP post-race press conference. When asked about Lewis Hamilton’s comments about who he credits for the dominance, Verstappen gave a surprisingly mature answer.

He said, “There’s a lot of that is down to the team, of course, as also how Lewis won his championships. That’s how it goes in Formula 1. Your car is super-important, but I think when you’re an exceptional driver like of course Lewis is as well, you make a difference over your team-mate at the time, because in very crucial races as well.”

“So, yeah, the car is very dominant in Formula 1 but of course between team-mates, only one can win, and that’s where you have to make the difference,” the Red Bull world champion concluded.

Read More: Red Bull Credits Rivals Lewis Hamilton & Mercedes for Max Verstappen’s Dutch Delight

F1 drivers always take the limelight for a team’s success, but all drivers are aware it’s a team effort. Verstappen’s answer highlighted exactly that without hitting back at the comment.

However, what was the comment that brought up this question?

Lewis Hamilton’s statement that inspired the reply from Max Verstappen

The Mercedes man earlier in the week took the credit away from Verstappen for the recent dominant displays. Hamilton praised the engineering team of the Milton Keynes outfit.

He said, “It’s more that I’m impressed with Adrian Newey and his team. I think it is a great team; they’ve generally had really great cars for some time. They’ve done a fantastic job and anything I’ve said in the past about the team, I didn’t mean it in a negative way.”

Owning up to his comments about Red Bull being “just a drinks company.”

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Hamilton’s comments might have taken the praise away from Verstappen, but the Dutchman remains unfazed. On his way to his second championship, Verstappen looks more relaxed than ever and might as well be planning for 2023.