Hamilton compares himself to 'inexperienced' Verstappen: 'I'm 36'

Lewis Hamilton will take on Max Verstappen for the first time in his Formula 1 career this season. Where the Briton in conversation with Autosport.com Hamilton stressed that it is not his first title fight, he noticed that it is different for the driver of Red Bull Racing.

The seven-time world champion recognises many things about himself in Verstappen. "I'm 36, I've been doing this a long time, so it's not the first time I've been faced with a driver that's been good and bad in certain ways," he stated in the interview. "I think I'm in just a much better position to be able to handle that, to deal with that. Particularly in the limelight and the pressures of the sport."

Both drivers showed brilliant actions on track but also went off the track hard on a number of occasions. In Italy, for example, Verstappen even crashed into Hamilton's car, which was the subject of much dispute afterwards. Hamilton accepts these situations, he stressed.