Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have carved their names in F1 history books as two of the most successful drivers to have ever raced in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Only Michael Schumacher can rival Hamilton in many statistics, with the two seven-time F1 champions regularly lauded as the greatest drivers of all time. But Verstappen is on the rise, and may one day rival the German and the Briton’s records if he remains in F1 long enough.
Hamilton has the record for the most Grand Prix wins in history with 105 so far after passing Schumacher’s 91, while Verstappen has 66. He has also beaten Schumacher’s pole record (104 to 68), podium record (202 to 155) and record for the most F1 laps led (5,488 to 5,111).
Jenson Button felt Max Verstappen forced Lewis Hamilton to change his driving style in 2021
Yet Jenson Button saw Verstappen force Hamilton to modify his driving style to deal with the Dutchman’s rise en route to his first of four successive F1 titles during the 2021 season. They fought all term, before Verstappen ended Hamilton’s reign at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
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Button once noted that he felt Hamilton was “giving up” against Verstappen during the early races of the 2021 season when the latter pushed the limits. Red Bull racer Verstappen risked damage when he forcefully overtook Mercedes driver Hamilton in Spain and Imola that year.
Their duels ultimately reached a point where Button believed Hamilton accepted he needed to change his driving style, which won the title in six of the previous seven years. It even led to the major flashpoint when Hamilton and Verstappen made contact in the 2021 British GP.
Button told JOE in 2022: “Lewis, he’s always been, the last few years especially, a very calm, calculated character. And that’s why he’s continually winning world championships. And now, he’s got this younger driver coming in and fighting him for the championship.
“The start of the year, Lewis was giving up in race situations in terms of Max would push him to the limit. Lewis would back out because it’s the right thing to do for a championship. But it got to a point where he had to push back against Max.
“I think the first one was at Silverstone, and he had to drive a little bit more aggressively, outside of his comfort zone, maybe, a little bit. That was the only way that he could take the fight to Max, to show that he wasn’t going to back down in every situation.
“So, I think the mental game that was going on between the two drivers was just as exciting as the on-track action because they had to change the way they went racing to fight against each other.”
Silverstone saw the first major flashpoint between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in 2021
Verstappen got one over Hamilton in the maiden F1 Sprint held at Silverstone in 2021 after overtaking the home hero for the lead. So, having also been run off the road in their battles in Barcelona and Imola, Hamilton did not yield when he had a run on Verstappen for Copse.
Verstappen pinched Hamilton onto the kerb as the Dutchman tried to fling his Red Bull into Copse in front of his rivals’ Mercedes. But a kick of oversteer saw Hamilton send Verstappen into a spin, although the penalty he earned did not stop the Stevenage native from winning.
Further flash points ensued as a result of Hamilton adopting a more aggressive approach to fight Verstappen for the 2021 F1 drivers’ title. Most notably, Verstappen parked his Red Bull on Hamilton’s Mercedes at the 2021 Italian GP when he refused to accept losing a position.
The pair also traded paint in Jeddah when Verstappen brake-tested Hamilton trying to game an order from FIA race director Michael Masi to yield the lead of the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP after leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Yet it would only be a taster for the finale.
Verstappen’s controversial last-lap overtake on Hamilton won him the 2021 title after Masi let only the lapped cars between the title rivals clear the leaders in a safety car period – during which Red Bull had pitted Verstappen – to end the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP in racing conditions.