The relationship between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton became increasingly strained as the season progressed.
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After a year spent locked in a frantic battle with Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen is hopeful that the 2022 season will not produce the same level of drama and vitriol as the 2021 season. The relationship between Verstappen and Hamilton became increasingly strained as the year progressed, with the breakdown only surpassed by that of Red Bull and Mercedes as tensions escalated.
Verstappen eventually won the Drivers’ Championship, with Mercedes securing the Constructors’ title. The season was capped off by a highly contentious Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Dutch driver is ready to race again in 2022 after relaxing and recharging over the winter break, but admitted he doesn’t want another year like 2021.
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“You can’t have that drama every single year, for sure,” he told UK newspaper The Guardian. “It’s not good for me, it’s not healthy for anyone in the team – both teams.”
However, now that he has achieved his career goal of winning a World Championship, Verstappen explained that his life has changed very little as a result. “Not for me at least,” he said. “Once I get home I prefer to do the things I was doing before becoming champion.”
Verstappen believes he’ll be better prepared to deal with the pressures of a title fight the next time around now that he has a World Championship win under his belt as he prepares for the new season.
“That little pressure in the back of your mind, of having to win a World Championship or trying to win it, has gone,” he said. “It’s already happened. I’ve done it. So when it’s tough or you’re having bad luck you probably will deal with it easier than normal.”
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While the FIA investigates the events of the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen has already dismissed any fears about what the report will reveal when it is released on March 18. Despite being 13 years younger than his main rival and entering a new season as the World Champion at the start of a revolutionary ruleset in 2022, Verstappen added that he will not approach the next few years with the goal of matching Hamilton’s achievements.
“If I never get to a number seven or number eight [title], it’s fine,” he commented. “You need a lot of luck to be in such a dominant position for such a long time. I just want to enjoy it and I know that, when I get to the track, I still want to win.”
