F1 champion Max Verstappen told to FORGET Lewis Hamilton rivalry as depth of Red Bull issues emerge

Composite of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in F1 cooldown room — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Verstappen told to FORGET Lewis Hamilton rivalry as depth of Red Bull issues emerge

F1 rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton battled each other fiercely in 2021

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 20 February 2025 09:54

Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen has been told to forget all about his former fierce rivalry with racing legend Lewis Hamilton.

As the 2025 season approaches, fans and pundits alike are eager to see how each team and driver will fare against each other as the sport's new regulations overhaul looms ahead of 2026.

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Verstappen and Hamilton famously fought for the championship back in 2021, where they headed into the last round in Abu Dhabi on equal points with all to play for in a grand prix weekend which still haunts fans of the British icon to this day.

After a controversial safety car call from the FIA, the championship was forced to be decided with just one final lap, where Verstappen overtook Hamilton and claimed the first of his four consecutive drivers' titles.

Heading into the 2025 campaign, however, the Dutchman and his Red Bull team are on the back foot and will need to hit the ground running to bring the fight to last year's constructors' champions McLaren and runners up Ferrari, who have now acquired the talent of Verstappen's former rival Hamilton.

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Lewis Hamilton brutally lost out on an eighth championship victory in 2021

Max Verstappen has now won four back-to-back drivers' titles

Click here to purchase the 2025 Red Bull kit ahead of what could shape up to be the most competitive season yet.

Juan Pablo Montoya lifts lid on major Red Bull challenge

Discussing Verstappen's focus heading into 2025 and where Red Bull stand among the competitive pack, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya told OnlineCassino.com.br: "Verstappen is not going to be Lewis' problem this year. I'd be surprised if Red Bull comes out swinging like the last few years."

Montoya continued: "Adrian Newey came out the other day saying that the problems at Red Bull are not as simple as they think it is.

"It's really difficult because when you believe what you're doing is right and all of a sudden things stop working, how far back do you go, and at what point do you go, ‘Is what we're doing now right or are we still wrong?

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"If you're saying you're building the car wrong and you realise what you're doing is wrong, then how convinced are you that what you're doing now is completely right?

"At some point they have just got to go, 'This is what we believe in and this is where we're going to put an effort in and this is what we're going to do and this is what's going to happen'.

"You just start moving sideways or even backwards. If you keep going forward based on the wrong basics you're never going to get out of the hole. And that hole can be very deep, that's the problem."