Lewis Hamilton "finally respecting" Max Verstappen for his greatness, claims Jacques Villeneuve

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have a tainted history of battling each other at the sharp end of the field, but this would not influence the former in possibly sabotaging his rival's championship chances, as Jacques Villeneuve claimed. The pair shared one of the fiercest battles for the drivers' crown in 2021 and have had a few on-track altercations since then.

Verstappen and Red Bull are seemingly making a resurgence in the drivers' championship scenario as he cut down his deficit to the top of the leaderboard from 104 points to 36 points in the past five race weekends. With the Dutchman trying to make a comeback, the paddock has been talking about the potential scenarios that might play out on the track.

So, on The F1 Show, Martin Brundle asked Villeneuve whether Hamilton would go out of his way in the upcoming four race weekends to hold back Verstappen from winning the 2025 drivers' title, in revenge for the loss he suffered in 2021. However, the 54-year-old was not on board with the idea and replied:

"Yeah, personally, probably not. But it looks to me that he's finally respecting Max for what he's achieving and the way he's been winning race weekend after race weekend. So I don't think he's as bothered as he would have been two years ago. Let's say."

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton's 2021 title fight went down to the wire, where a final lap overtake decided the outcome of the championship.

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Lewis Hamilton knows how it feels to be in a championship fight with Max Verstappen

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton (L) and Red Bull's Max Verstappen (R) at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium race weekend - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen is hounding down McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the drivers' standings. Despite Red Bull waving the white flag on the championship chances earlier in the year, the situation has since shifted, where the 28-year-old is now the hunter in the title brawl.

With Lewis Hamilton already having experience of battling the Red Bull driver in a season-long title fight, he revealed how the papaya duo have to be cut-throat to keep the Dutchman at bay, as he said (via BBC):

"You have to be cut-throat and that is what Max is, he is going to take this from them if they don't do the same. You have to dig deep to hold off someone like Max and the car he is in. But also for either of them to come out ahead, consistency is key, and you've seen that from Max in the last few races." "Max has won it four times so he knows what it's like and being the hunter is much easier than being the defender."

Meanwhile, Verstappen and Hamilton sit third and sixth in the interim standings, respectively.

Edited by Geetansh Pasricha