Watch: Lewis Hamilton & Max Verstappen Battling It Out for the First Time Ever Almost Half a Decade Before Things Blew Up

“The two Championship Protagonists have taken each other out of the Italian Grand Prix!” It wasn’t the first, it certainly wasn’t the last. At times, it seems like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen cannot just avoid each other. Be it anywhere in the world, the two titans of F1 have collided and clashed numerous times. Perhaps, Max Verstappen is the one driver with whom Hamilton has clashed the most in the last few years. The origin of this rivalry traces back almost half a decade before things blew up between Lewis and Max in 2021.

According to a video of the 2016 Japanese GP, Hamilton was battling it out with Verstappen for 2nd place. He was chasing Max down the back straight and through the 130R corner, attempting a move just before the final chicane at Suzuka.

Although, the Mercedes driver had to bail out of the move, as Verstappen did not give him a chance to pass. The Briton took the escape road to join the race behind Max again down the main straight. While this battle did not result in a collision, it was certainly the spark of many such battles and clashes to come.

Eventually, Hamilton had to settle for P3 as the Red Bull driver took 2nd place behind the other Mercedes of Nico Rosberg. Amid a tense battle for the championship, Lewis was anxious about claiming every single point against Nico. In the end, he did fall short of the German driver by 5 points for a 3rd straight world title.

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Since then, Lewis and Max have been locking horns and banging wheels like nemeses. Even before the 2021 title battle, there were instances when the two champions came together, fueling the fire of their rivalry. Finally, the fire became a big inferno of tension and drama in 2021.

The Notorious Tussles of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

The duo of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have perhaps registered their rivalry in the list of iconic ones in F1. Be it like Hunt-Lauda or Prost-Senna, there has been the inevitable feeling of an imminent crash coming up whenever these two are on track.

In 2018, the Bahrain GP saw one of the high-intensity moments between Max and Lewis. It was such a heated clash that also provoked the Briton to hurl abusive words at the Red Bull prodigy. Coming into Turn 1 in Sakhir, Max tried to overtake Lewis’s car and had contact with his front wing. This compromised Hamilton’s race but ended it for the Dutchman with a left-rear puncture.

And 2021 has seen some of the worst moments between the duo. In each of the first 4 races, Verstappen and Hamilton banged wheels and had minor contact. But, it was Silverstone that unleashed all the tension and the fire of their rivalry blazed up at 180 mph.

Following Max closely on Lap 1 of British GP, Hamilton was not willing to give up at any cost. Eventually, it was Max who had to pay a high cost when they approached Copse and Verstappen crashed out. And it didn’t end there.

Cut to Monza, Lewis was coming out of the pits, and Max was right alongside him going into a tight chicane. No one wished to yield and give each other space. The next thing we saw was both cars in the gravel and out of the race! It was just a persistent clash psychologically and physically to stay ahead of each other.

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The rivalry may have started with some small clashes and battles. But it has become one of the craziest tussles ever in the sport. And if we see Lewis Hamilton challenging for the world title again in 2023, there are all the possibilities of more such collisions with Max Verstappen.