Verstappen relishes Hamilton battle after Canadian GP duel: 'I enjoyed it a lot'

The two great rivals from the 2021 title battle went head-to-head once again like in the old days, with the seven-time world champion capping off an already strong race - in which he was comfortably running inside the podium positions - with a brilliant move worthy of a champion to secure second place and claim only his second podium since joining Ferrari.

Speaking after the race, Verstappen admitted he had thoroughly enjoyed battling Hamilton once again, explaining how closely following another car in Montreal allowed drivers to deploy more energy and gain extra speed on the straights - something he felt played a key role throughout their duel.

The Dutchman also revealed he tried to fight back during the closing laps after losing the position, while stressing how enjoyable it had been to push flat out throughout the race. Verstappen additionally pointed out that it was the first time in quite a while he had managed to complete a relatively straightforward race without any major incidents or chaos affecting his afternoon.

Hamilton described the battle as an incredibly enjoyable experience, admitting it felt special to go wheel-to-wheel with one of the sport’s greatest drivers. The Ferrari driver explained that the two cars appeared closely matched overall, with Ferrari holding an advantage through the corners while Red Bull made up time on the straights.

“It was awesome. Absolutely awesome to fight with one of the greats. It was massively challenging. I think our cars are relatively close, I would say. You see him in qualifying, we were relatively close. And I think whilst we’re probably a little bit quicker through the corners, everything you gain in the corner, they gain on the straight.”

He also admitted following Verstappen had been particularly challenging during the opening stages of the race, especially while struggling to keep up in dirty air. However, once switching to the medium tyres, Hamilton felt he finally had the pace to begin closing the gap again - something he said brought back the same instinct he had developed since childhood, chasing down rivals in karting.