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Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s title battle is similar to that of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, according to F1 driver-turned-TV pundit David Coulthard.
The former F1 driver was on the F1 Nation podcast describing the intense title battle between the 2021 title contenders, which reminded him of the cold battle between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost during the late 80s and early 90s.
Speaking on the podcast, Coulthard said:
“This is a remarkable situation, a remarkable championship. And I wonder a bit like we saw with Prost and Senna, who wouldn’t even be in the same room as each other at a certain point, and then came together. If you remember at Ayrton’s last victory, he called Alain upon the podium in Adelaide, and they, as far as I understood it, ended up with so much of racing respect, even though they didn’t like each other at some point.”
Reviewing the cold relationship between Lewis Hamilton and his Dutch rival, Coulthard felt the intense rivalry could turn to respect at some point in the future.
The rivalry between Senna and Prost began in 1988 when they were teammates at McLaren-Honda, and continued even after Prost switched to Ferrari in 1990, until Senna's untimely death in 1994.
According to the former F1 driver, Senna and Prost shared a similar relationship, where they both clashed on track, creating race-ending repercussions when they fought each other for the titles, but shared a cordial relationship otherwise.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen could be cordial with each other in the future
Coulthard was optimistic in predicting that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen's relationship with each other in the future could turn on similar lines to that of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost's camaraderie.
Coulthard said:
“It was almost as if they would be buddies into the sunset. Can we see in 10 years' time Max and Lewis going on a boat trip together? I don’t know the world has moved on. But I know one thing for sure, they are the class of the field.”
With emotions on both sides running high amidst an intense title battle down to the wire, both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have pushed each other to a different level in terms of their skill and race-craft throughout the season.
The title will be settled in the final round in Abu Dhabi, where the atmosphere and the battle between the two championship contenders are expected to be even more intense, tension-filled, and fiery.
