Max Verstappen on duelling with Lewis Hamilton: "I don’t really understand why we cannot really race like with the others"

Max Verstappen recently worded his thoughts on how F1 fans and pundits look at his battles with Lewis Hamilton differently. After a nail-biting 2021 F1 season where the two drivers raced fiercely for the world championship, everyone got tense and overanalytical whenever both raced each other in 2022. The Dutchman, however, didn't understand or like the reaction.

During an interview with Motorsport, Verstappen spoke about how he always respected Hamilton but was unable to understand why their battles were observed so acutely. He said:

“I always respect Lewis a lot for what he has achieved in the sport, but that’s why I don’t really understand why we cannot really race like I’ve been doing with the others.”

Max Verstappen also spoke about how he has raced against multiple other drivers like George Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz, but his battles with the seven-time world champion have always been different. He went on to describe how he enjoyed racing against George Russell in the Sprint race in Brazil but was unable to do so in the main race where he made contact with Lewis Hamilton. He said:

“I have to be careful what I’m saying here. But with everyone I’ve been fighting, it’s been really hard, aggressive battles and we never really came together. Somehow, with Lewis, it’s a different story. And I honestly don’t understand.”

“I don’t feel like I’m doing anything different to Lewis or to the other drivers in terms of how we’re racing. Because the day before [in Brazil] with George [Russell], we were having an incredible [battle], closing the door, defending, out-braking each other. That was a lot of fun and I was trying to do the same in the main race, having that kind of battle. But, unfortunately, we couldn’t get it to work.”

Of course, Max Verstappen's battles with Lewis Hamilton will always be seen under a magnifying glass because of their fierce battle and rivalry that originated in the 2021 F1 season.

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Max Verstappen reveals his worst race in the 2022 F1 season

Max Verstappen recently revealed his worst race of the 2022 F1 season. Though the Dutchman had a near-perfect season, he faced some unpleasant hiccups. Speaking to Viaplay, he mentioned how the 2022 F1 Singapore GP was one of his worst races. He said:

"There was Monaco and Silverstone, but I would go for Singapore - that was just a terrible weekend. Everything went wrong in setting the car up on Friday, we had way too many issues to actually try and run the car. Then of course we didn't have enough fuel in qualifying, and then everything went wrong in the race as well. It was just [one of those weekends] that happens."

Almost everything that could go wrong on a race weekend happened with Max Verstappen. One of the worst tragedies was when he had to leave his fastest lap in qualifying simply because his car had low fuel.