Max Verstappen Not Interested in the ‘Media Hype’ Over F1 Rivalry With Lewis Hamilton

The 2021 F1 season’s major title contenders, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen, recently caused chaos at Silverstone during the race. Interestingly, while the 7-time world champion escaped with minor front wing damage to his car, it wasn’t as simple for the Dutchman, whose car was pretty much shattered into pieces.

This led to a wave of hype from the entire F1 fandom, with most of them claiming the incident to have kindled an ugly rivalry between the duo.

Hence, it looked like there could be more such Verstappen-Hamilton encounters over the rest of the season, much like the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry in 2016. However, Verstappen isn’t necessarily obliging to the hype being fueled into the ongoing duel.

What did Max Verstappen say?

As reported by F1, the Red Bull driver opined that he isn’t interested in kick-starting a rivalry with Hamilton. Hence, this could mean that Verstappen will try to avoid the replication of the Silverstone incident in the future.

“I don’t have much to say on all the media hype. And to be honest, I am not interested in getting involved in that,” he clarified.

Focussed and ready to race #HungarianGP @Max33Verstappen pic.twitter.com/GWtB3jVcXk

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2021

Ever since the race at Monte Carlo, Verstappen had slowly been extending his lead to Hamilton, and the gap was around 33 points between the duo ahead of the British Grand Prix.

However, the dramatic incident at Silverstone meant that the difference fell down to a mere 8 points. Hence, from the Hungarian GP, Verstappen will have the massive task of building the gap to the Briton from scratch.

Read More: Max Verstappen Displays his Masterclass as a 12 Year Old on Karts

My job is to be the best: Verstappen

The Dutchman opened up that his focus is entirely intact on winning every single race over the remaining course of the season.

“My job is the same as always, to be the best I can and try to win on Sunday,” Verstappen said.

Formula One F1 – Steiermark Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria – June 26, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during qualifying REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

F1 will be stopping in Hungary for the next round, and the limelight will undeniably reside on the two title contenders. Of course, Hamilton has garnered 8 wins around Hungaroring, the highest by any F1 driver.

However, the stats might not help the Briton much, as Verstappen will be carrying an incredibly pacy car in hand, similar to the British GP. Hence, the odds are substantially against Hamilton winning the race this weekend. But, how will the reality turn out?

Watch Story: When F1 Drivers Had a Blast on Top Gear Featuring Hamilton, Vettel & Ricciardo

The post Max Verstappen Not Interested in the ‘Media Hype’ Over F1 Rivalry With Lewis Hamilton appeared first on EssentiallySports.