Look back at the 2021 season. Every race had so much on the balance for Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. One wrong step from one of them and the other gained a considerable advantage. It was a back-and-forth throughout the season, one that ended with the controversial Abu Dhabi GP. The seven-time champion gave everything that night to become an eight-time champion. And the Dutchman? Well, he became a World Champion for the first time. Since then, he hasn’t looked back.

Whether Hamilton admits it or not, there is, to some extent, a fury inside him. While he may have wanted to direct it toward Mercedes, going against his own team wouldn’t look too good. Inadvertently, though, a lot of that fury has been directed at Max Verstappen, especially after F1 entered his era of dominance. Now, it seems like Hamilton has retracted some of that anger.

Lewis Hamilton praised Verstappen in a shocking turn of events

Since Verstappen won his first title in 2021, F1 has been his show. Everyone else has just been following him. That didn’t sit too well with Hamilton and Mercedes, especially after they were the ones to hand over that reign to him and Red Bull. In light of the Dutchman’s relentless dominance, the paddock has been a verbal battleground for him and Hamilton and their teams over the past few weeks. 

When Verstappen was on the verge of a 10th successive win at the Italian GP, Hamilton started firing shots. He said, “In my personal opinion, all my teammates have been stronger than the teammates Max has had.” Considering the seven-time champion undermined not just him but also his teammates, Verstappen didn’t hit right back. He said, “It’s not nice of Hamilton towards the teammates I had. It’s about your own performance, how you perform in your race weekends, and how you work together with your team. The rest is secondary. Maybe there is a little jealousy. Nice for Netflix? That doesn’t really matter to me.”

There’s no doubt Netflix documented all of this for Drive To Survive. But after all the jabs they and their teams took at each other, no one expected to hear Hamilton praise Verstappen. Defying the odds is what Hamilton has been doing since he joined F1, so he did just that. In an interview with Blick, the interviewer mentioned that Hamilton hasn’t won in 38 races. In that time, Verstappen’s amassed 29 victories. When asked to comment on his old rival, Hamilton said, “What do you want to hear? All I can say is, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing.’ And Max is currently doing an extraordinary job at Red Bull.” [Translated by Google]

Read More: ‘Focus on Yourself’: Brutally Dismissing Lewis Hamilton’s ‘Jealousy’, Max Verstappen Fires Stern Advice to Mercedes

Hamilton may have let go of some of his anger at Verstappen over the past few months. However, that didn’t stop him from revealing that he’ll be coming for Verstappen and Red Bull.

Hamilton revealed what his greatest achievement in F1 would be

For most of this season, Hamilton’s future in F1 was up in the air. His contract with Mercedes was ending at the end of the year, and contract negotiations didn’t seem to have an end in sight. At the Italian GP, they finally announced that the seven-time champion will drive for Mercedes until at least 2025. Discussing his contract, Hamilton revealed he has unfinished business with Mercedes. What did that mean? He and his team are gunning for wins and championships, waiting to pounce on Red Bull.

It’s no secret that the seven-time champion wants to win that record-breaking eighth title. While that is something he can achieve only over time, what he revealed as his greatest triumph is more short-term. The interviewer at Blick said, “38 races without a win (last win: 2021 Saudi ArabianGP). A long time for a man with 103 record successes.” Hamilton replied, “We’ll be coming back. We can do it. The next step to the top podium will come. And it will probably be my greatest triumph in my career.” Considering Hamilton put his faith in Mercedes for another two years, something significant may be happening at Brackley. Who knows? That could very well help Hamilton achieve not just a win but a championship in the near future, too.

What did you think about Lewis Hamilton praising Max Verstappen after everything that’s happened in the past couple of years?

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