Hamilton stresses: 'No problems between me and Verstappen, I respect him'

Despite the bitter battle that took place between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in the 2021 Formula 1 season, Hamilton says there is no issue between the two rivals. Indeed, he says he can only respect the performance of the two-time world champion.

Hamilton says that he does not really speak to anyone regularly, not even his mother. He does stress, however, that there are no problems between him and Verstappen. "At least, he is a lot younger, so maybe he has a problem with me, but I am not sure about that and I actually assume not. Although I can't speak for him," the Mercedes driver thought aloud in conversation with Formula One Magazine.

The battle for the 2021 world title may have ended in a rock-hard feud between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, but Hamilton says there is no bitterness on his part towards his rival. "He did everything he had to do in 2021, so why should I have a problem with him? He performed and delivered every weekend, nobody can take that away from him," he continued.

Regardless of the car's performance, Hamilton says it is never easy to consistently perform at such a high level as Verstappen has done. He also stresses that Red Bull Racing has done an excellent job as a team and the seven-time world champion can only respect that.

"People like to talk about there being problems between Max and me," the 38-year-old Briton adds. However, he stresses again that there is no such thing as far as he is concerned and dismisses the stories as "fairytales". "I respect him," Hamilton concludes.