'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Max Verstappen has talked about the attitude he feels Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton should avoid adopting going into the 2022 F1 season. According to Verstappen, Mercedes and Hamilton would be well-served if they didn't approach the new season looking for revenge.
The 24-year-old beat Hamilton on the last lap of the season finale to win his maiden world drivers' championship.
While on the BBC's Chequered Flag podcast, Max Verstappen claimed that his Red Bull team worked 'hard' during the 2021 campaign. When asked if the 2021 loss would make Mercedes come back like a wounded animal next season, he said:
“I don’t work like that, because then you have the wrong attitude in general. If that will make you work harder, then you’re not working hard enough before that. We, as a team, I think are always working hard – it doesn’t matter if you lose or win.”
He then went on to add:
“I don’t know how they (Mercedes) work. At least I know from my experience that if I lose, it would not make me work harder because I work the same already if I am winning or not winning.”
Verstappen also expressed optimism about battling Hamilton for a few years more. The Dutchman said he hopes the seven-time world champion won't retire anytime soon.
Max Verstappen's bad luck kept 2021 F1 title challenge interesting, says Jolyon Palmer
The 2021 F1 world championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton went right down to the wire. It literally went to the final lap of the final race.
Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer felt that, had it not been for Verstappen's bad luck, the title battle would not have been nearly as interesting.
In his column on F1.com, Palmer wrote:
“Were it not for bad luck in Baku and Budapest, and a collision in Silverstone, then he (Max Verstappen) would have had the championship sewn up before the last lap at Yas Marina. Thankfully for us, he didn’t, and the drama went down to the wire.”
Verstappen was on course to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix before a rear tire blowout sent him crashing into the wall on lap 47. The Dutchman was also caught in a multiple-car crash on the opening lap at the Hungaroring through no fault of his own.
He also crashed massively on the first lap of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone as a result of fervent wheel-to-wheel racing with Lewis Hamilton.
Despite those bad patches of luck, fortune shined on Max Verstappen when he needed it the most, on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
