Abu Dhabi GP: Lewis Hamilton says ‘it’s natural’ for Max Verstappen to target him

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen clashed in the Sao Paulo GP at the weekend; the two collided on the track several times last season in their big title battle; watch the Abu Dhabi GP all weekend on Sky Sports F1 – with the race at 1pm on Sunday

Lewis Hamilton says his Formula 1 status makes it “natural” that Max Verstappen drives him harder than his rivals.

Verstappen won a thrilling world title battle with Hamilton last season to claim his maiden title after clashing with the seven-time world champion in a tough 2021 campaign.

Red Bull’s dominance and Mercedes’ lack of pace this year have kept them out of contention with their rivals in 2022, but with the Silver Arrows at last in recent weeks, Verstappen and Hamilton clashed in last week’s Sao Paulo GP. The Dutchman receives a five-second penalty for causing the collision.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season this week, at the venue where Verstappen won the title last year, Hamilton was asked if he expected the race to continue to be controversial.

He replied: “There is no doubt.” I think I will change.

“You have already seen that I try to avoid it [contact] in situations.

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Verstappen and Hamilton collided at the Sao Paulo GP after the race restarted following a Safety Car

“I’m sure that we will grow, all sides will grow and improve hopefully so that we don’t have incidents like we did in the last race, but I couldn’t rest.”

Hamilton was then asked in a follow-up question if he thought the reason Verstappen drove so hard was because of his status as the sport’s best driver of all time.

The 37-year-old smiled, before replying: “I think yes, you’re probably right.

“I remember when I came to the sport and your goal is the person who has the most competition. It was Fernando (Alonso), then it was Kimi (Raikkonen), because Kimi was one of the best drivers here, and then it was Seb (Vettel), so I think that it’s natural.”

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Hamilton is not thinking about last season’s Abu Dhabi GP and is not focused on what is behind him

Hamilton also revealed the only time he had a “serious” conversation with Verstappen was when he tried to persuade him to kneel by his side to support the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, which the Dutchman did not choose.

“I don’t think there’s any depth behind it, because we haven’t discussed it in depth,” Hamilton said.

“The only time we had a serious conversation was when in 2020 in Austria I went to him to talk to him about what Black Lives Matter means and what it would mean if he supported it.

“I tried to explain what it felt like and why we were fighting, and what happened. Obviously, it didn’t make a difference.”