Max Verstappen suggests Lewis Hamilton is ‘jealous’ of his success following comments from rival

Max Verstappen is aiming to secure his 10th consecutive Formula 1 victory, setting a new record. Lewis Hamilton, a former champion, stated that he is not any more impressed by Verstappen than he is by previous champions.

Max Verstappen suggests Lewis Hamilton is “a little jealous” of his success after Hamilton questioned the quality of Verstappen’s team-mates.

In a recent interview, Lewis Hamilton expressed his opinion on Max Verstappen’s success, stating that he is not more impressed with the Dutch driver compared to other former world champions. Hamilton believes that Verstappen’s achievements have received disproportionate attention in the media.

Max Verstappen is on track to win his third consecutive title in the 2023 Formula 1 season, having dominated the competition so far.

“Maybe he’s a little jealous of my current success,” Verstappen said to the Dutch media, including Racing News 365, after qualifying second in Monza on Saturday.

“This kind of statement… he possibly thinks he’s winning something with that, but it makes no difference to me.

“I think Mercedes have a very hard time dealing with losing, after all these years of winning so much.”

In a dramatic turn of events, Max Verstappen secured his first world title in 2021, denying Lewis Hamilton a record-breaking eighth championship. Despite this setback, Mercedes ultimately clinched the constructors’ crown, capping off a highly intense and closely fought season.

In 2022, Red Bull’s dominant performance in Formula 1 has led to them being on track for a second consecutive constructors’ title, breaking Mercedes’ eight-year streak.

Verstappen added: “At some point, you have to be realistic and then you have to be able to appreciate what other teams are doing.

“We did the same when they were dominant and we also said, ‘We have to work harder because we are not good enough’.

“You can keep shouting and screaming that what we do is not that special… you just have to deal with yourself.”

Hamilton expressed admiration for Red Bull’s performance, potentially overshadowing Verstappen’s accomplishments.

“We’ve seen it through history,” Hamilton said.

“I’m no more impressed than when Michael [Schumacher] was leading, when Sebastian [Vettel] was leading, when Kimi [Raikkonen] was driving, when Fernando [Alonso] was winning – same.

“I mean I think the team as a whole is one of the strongest – they’re firing on all cylinders right now.

“The car is incredible, the driver’s doing an amazing job – very consistent, the pit crew are doing a great job, the mechanics are doing a good job, strategy’s doing a good job – it’s on point, you can’t fault them.”

Hamilton then also expressed frustration at attention being given to the margins by which Verstappen has been outperforming his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.

“It’s actually interesting because I was running this morning and I was thinking about this,” Hamilton said.

“The narrative, that goes through the media… you know when I qualified half a second, six tenths ahead of Valtteri, they didn’t say the same thing as they say today when Max qualifies six tenths ahead of Perez – it’s blown up much more.

“And in my personal opinion, Valtteri, and actually all my team-mates, have been stronger than the team-mates that Max has had.

“Jenson [Button], Fernando [Alonso], George [Russell], Valtteri… Nico [Rosberg] – I’ve had so many.

“These guys have all been very consistent, and Max has not raced against anyone like that.”