Despite their intense rivalry, triple world champion Max Verstappen and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton are often seen sharing light moments in the paddock. The Dutchman once jokingly quibbled about the Briton not calling him by name.
In what was one of the earliest wet weather races of the 2017 season, the then-title rivals Mercedes-AMG’s Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had locked the front row at the Chinese Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Verstappen, in his second season for Red Bull Racing had managed to qualify in 16th position.
After a series of safety car and virtual safety car sessions, Hamilton, Vettel, and Verstappen finished on the podium in first, second, and third place respectively.
Verstappen was awarded the ‘Driver of the Day’ title for finishing third from a 16th-place start. During the post-race interview with Martin Brundle, Verstappen jokingly quibbled about Hamilton calling him ‘this guy’ rather than Max.
“A great job done by Sebastian and this young dude here is always like,” Lewis Hamilton said (0:01 onward).
“I’m not this guy….You always call me this guy,” Verstappen responded, cutting Hamilton mid-sentence (0:08 onward).
“I do?” Hamilton questioned jokingly (0:12 onward).
A video of the interaction was shared on X by a Verstappen fan page. Here’s a look at the post:
Despite sharing some intense moments like the incidents at Silverstone and Monza in the controversial 2021 F1 season, Hamilton and Verstappen respect each other as drivers.
“That wasn’t a problem. It’s just a new situation” – Toto Wolff on remaining calm despite losing Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari in 2025
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move to Ferrari was one of the biggest news stories in the Formula 1 world ahead of the 2024 season. Despite losing his star driver, team boss Toto Wolff has claimed that he remained calm.
“I had much worse in my life happening, like real drama and trauma. This is not even moving the needle. Lewis is a friend and will forever be a friend – we’ve had 12 years in the team together, so that was just an unusual thought of ‘this is ending’, but not challenging in whichever way,” Wolff said on the High Performance podcast.
“So no, that wasn’t a problem. It’s just a new situation, it has risks and opportunities – risks in the sense (of) how do I inform the sponsors as quickly as possible – because it was leaking – and on the other side, what are we doing about next year?..I think if someone decides to go then you need to let them go,” he added.
With three races to go, Lewis Hamilton is placed seventh in the 2024 drivers’ table, while Mercedes-AMG is fourth in the constructors’ championship.
Edited by Tushar Bahl
