Max Verstappen has blamed Red Bull and Mercedes for letting his battle with Lewis Hamilton spill out of control. The reigning champion said the conflict between the two teams played an “important role” in last year’s battle.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Verstappen spoke openly about the battle with Hamilton months on from edging out the seven-time champion.
He said: “I think in the fight between me and Hamilton, the conflict between Red Bull and Mercedes also played an important role. In addition to everything that happened during the championship, that also inspired the confrontation on the track.”
The seeds of the impending battle were sewn as early as the first round as the pair battled for victory in Bahrain. The rivalry soon spilled over as both were desperate to get a foothold in the championship.
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“I knew very well what to do and I didn’t need help from others. The experience gained from the previous years in F1 made sure that the best Max emerged.”
Ahead of the new season, Hamilton addressed the battle with Verstappen as he branded the Red Bull star as “ruthless”.
He said: “We have a lot of common in a sense of how much we love doing what we do and driving, then on the other side we’re ruthless. He is ruthless, I am. We are fighters out there, there’s no friends on track. It’s like when you go skiing, there’s no friends out there.”
When discussing the collisions last season, Hamilton added: ”Some days we get it right, sometimes we get it wrong. But I think what’s really important is that we’re human beings and that we do keep respect.”
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