Max Verstappen Reveals if He Misses Iconic 2021 Title Fight with Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen gave an interesting response on missing his iconic 2021 title fight against Lewis Hamilton.

Max Verstappen Reveals if He Misses Iconic 2021 Title Fight with Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, 2021 Abu Dhabi GP (Via IMAGO), Max Verstappen (in circle, via Red Bull)

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Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are arguably the biggest talents in recent F1 history. The two star drivers battled it out in 2021 for the world championship in one of the most exciting title fights. Now, Verstappen has revealed whether he misses his on-track battles with the seven-time world champion.

In 2021, Lewis Hamilton was at the peak of his career, having won his seventh world title a year earlier. On the other hand, Max Verstappen was a rising star who was looking to finally put an end to Hamilton’s dominance in the sport.

Red Bull and Mercedes both had quick cars that each, with not much separating the two. The entire season was full of on-track battles and collisions between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. At the final race of the season, the two were on equal points.

Albeit, it was Max Verstappen who was crowned world champion after a controversial Safety Car in the ending stages of the race.

Max Verstappen was asked whether he missed having similar battles with Lewis Hamilton. The four-time world champion insisted that missing was too strong of a term. Rather, Verstappen acknowledged that he respected the battles the two had back then. Since 2021, Lewis Hamilton has not really been in the fight upfront, while the Dutchman won three more championships.

Missing is a very strong term. I appreciate the battle that I had at that time.

Max Verstappen said as quoted by GPBlog

Max Verstappen full of pride over 2024 F1 title

Following 2021, Max Verstappen had an easier time in 2022, and 2023. The Red Bull star clinched his second world championship in 2022 at Suzuka after Charles Leclerc‘s title challenge collapsed midway through the season. In 2023, Max Verstappen simply annihilated the competition with a record-breaking 19 wins in a single season.

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

2024 was different. Max Verstappen had an early advantage with a handful of victories. However, the Red Bull star was soon on the backfoot with a winless streak for months. Nevertheless, Verstappen bagged his fourth title after defeating McLaren’s Lando Norris.

The reigning world champion asserted that he was proud of his 2024 campaign. Verstappen pointed out that he and Red Bull worked hard to extract maximum performance that year. Although, the Dutchman asserted that every championship remains special.

2024 is a season that I am very proud of, certainly in terms of how we manage things and how we optimize the performance of the car, but for me, every championship has a meaning special, of course.

Max Verstappen explained

Certainly, Max Verstappen deserves all his championship victories. Irrespective of the off-track controversies, the 27-year-old is simply in a league of his own on-track. Be it Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc or Lando Norris, all have failed to really pose a challenge. Though in 2025, a bad car has put Verstappen out of contention.

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