“Demonstrates the difference in sportsmanship and character” – F1 fans call out the stark contrast between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen over helping teammates
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Max Verstappen's denial of helping his teammate is the opposite of Lewis Hamilton's reaction to a similar scenario 5 years ago
In Formula 1, your teammate is your first opponent. However, the two drivers of any team are always expected to play for the team’s interests in favor of their own. We often see the two cars working together yet every driver is hungry for success, time and time again we have seen feuds between teammates, souring relations which can lead to a disaster. The Sao Paulo Grand Prix was just the latest example of the whole fiasco between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
During the race at Interlagos, Sergio Perez looked to pass teammate Max Verstappen, to maintain his lead over Charles Leclerc in the F1 standings. Verstappen refused to obey the team’s orders and even told the team, “Don’t ask that again.” Perez was not happy with the Dutchman’s behavior and said, “It shows how he really is.” This has put the Mexican on level points with Leclerc, both having 290 points heading into the season finale.
A similar situation had arisen during the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix when Lewis Hamilton was in the title fight against Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton was let go by teammate Valtteri Bottas with the condition of giving the place back if the Brit failed to gain any position. Hamilton stood true to his word, with the 7-time world champion handing the Finn the last podium spot of the race in the final lap.
This shows two stark contrasts. One was Max Verstappen, who had already won the championship of the season yet did not budge on helping his teammate, the teammate who has helped the Dutchman on several occasions. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand gave the position back to Perez which caused the Brit to lose 3 more points to Vettel. Hamilton was also 8 seconds ahead of his teammate while Max was 4 seconds ahead of Checo.
Fans use Lewis Hamilton as an example of what Max Verstappen failed to do
On Reddit, fans got into a discussion regarding these two events. Even the fans of the two-time world champion agreed that the Dutchman was at fault. One user said, “Max was petty and apparently wanted to settle a score. Gained nothing from it” while another user replied, “Just demonstrates the difference in sportsmanship and character.” Fans even mentioned the increased difficulty in Hamilton’s case be it the points deficit to Vettel or the risk the Brit took in giving the place to Bottas which could have had Verstappen pass him.
It is clear that Verstappen’s incident from the Brazilian Grand Prix will be remembered for a long time. For most fans and even Checo, it has brought out the true character of the Dutchman, someone who does not help his teammate but gladly takes help from them. It has also shown Hamilton’s sportsmanship, someone who stood by his word even when his position could have been at risk. It will be interesting to see how the relations between Max and Checo progress over the next couple of weeks.
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