“I don’t think he sees Leclerc as a threat in the same way that he sees Hamilton,” Jack Aitken dissects Max Verstappen’s rivalries in 2021 and 2022 season of F1
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After two years of consistent top-place finishes in the points table with back-to-back F1 World Championship wins, Max Verstappen has undoubtedly entered the upper echelons in the sport as his name can now be included amongst the greatest racers ever. But, quite interestingly, Max Verstappen‘s trials and tribulations in 2021 were very different from the challenges that he was faced with in 2022, despite the end result being the same–the Dutchman winning the title by outperforming all his rivals.
While last year’s F1 season saw Verstappen going for his first-ever World title by standing up to Lewis Hamilton, the racing legend who was targeting his eighth Championship, 2022 was a more “laid-back” year. Even though Ferrari had a fast car and great drivers, they made too many mistakes. And Max took advantage of those errors to surpass Charles Leclerc in the Standings.
With Lewis Hamilton lacking the race pace to match up to his rivals from Ferrari and Red Bull this year, the majority of 2022 saw Max Verstappen mostly engrossed in a contest with the initial Championship favorite Charles Leclerc. But towards the end of the season, Mercedes unlocked the key to performing better and the 2022 Brazil GP gave the fans a glimpse of the Max Verstappen – Lewis Hamilton rivalry as they two had a contact at Interlagos. Now, Williams reserve driver Jack Aitken has spoken up about how Max Verstappen’s battle for the first place with Lewis Hamilton in 2021 is hugely different from his quest for the Championship in 2022 by surpassing Charles Leclerc in the rankings.
Jack Aitken believes Max Verstappen’s fight for the title against Lewis Hamilton was more of a “psychological battle”
Max Verstappen’s title battle with Lewis Hamilton was quite a controversial one as it went on till the very last race of the year in Abu Dhabi, and even there, most of the fans were not satisfied with how things turned out. Speaking on this, Jack Aitken said, “They can’t give an inch to each other. As soon as one gives an inch it’s such a win in the psychological battle, isn’t it?”
Then Aitken focused on Max Verstappen’s more recent fight with Charles Leclerc for the top position in the Championship Standings, saying, “I think he is a little bit more gentle with Leclerc. Gentle is probably over-egging it a little bit, he’s still going for it, but they don’t collide. Respectful because I don’t think he sees Leclerc as a threat in the same way that he sees Hamilton.”
In the upcoming 2023 season, Max Verstappen will be hoping for a hat-trick ad he will target his third World Championship title win in a row. But Ferrari is currently undergoing some huge changes with Mattia Binotto’s exit being the first step, and now it is to be seen if their new Team Principal succeeds in bringing them back to their winning ways. And Mercedes have also announced they are willing to make improvements in their setup so that they can win the Constructors’ Championship again. All in all, it can be said that next year will see some interesting races with quite a few title contenders.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)