Verstappen 'not at war' with Hamilton for F1 title
Verstappen trails Hamilton by 14 points after the first four rounds of the season
Max Verstappen has insisted he is not at "war" with Lewis Hamilton despite the hard-fought battle between the pair for this year's world championship title.
The Dutchman trails the Mercedes driver by 14 points after losing out in a strategic Spanish Grand Prix to go three-one down in race victories across the opening four races.
However, when asked if he was ready for war with Hamilton, Verstappen said: “Let’s not use the term ‘war’.
"Let’s just keep it competitive in a nice way but of course, we will fight hard but they will as well which is good for the sport but I like it too.”
In each of the first four races, Verstappen and Hamilton have come close to contact in side-by-side battles.
Commenting on the emotion of finally being in a competitive position against Mercedes, Verstappen added: “I think it’s exciting and I’m of course looking forward to every single battle out there.
"With the championship fight, we finally have a car that is capable of having decent results every single weekend.
"If that is fighting for first or third or second is going to depend on the track which is a bit difficult to project at the moment but it is really enjoyable and I think so far this year we have had some good results.
“Also from my side, I am happy but things can always go better on both sides, from the car and myself. It is never good enough, even if I would have won all the races so far.”
Related
More F1 news
Latest F1 news
Recommended by the editors
Miami Grand Prix
Max Verstappen claims he's in the F1 jungle after Miami GP
Latest F1 News
George Russell Mercedes contract clause is ‘messing with his mind’
Latest F1 News
Lewis Hamilton merely 'surviving' at Ferrari as F1 legend hit by chronic issue
Miami Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton plays the 'shrimp', Aston Martin in 'a deep coma': Italian media react to the Miami Grand Prix
Races
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2026
-
Grand Prix of China 2026
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Bahrain 2026
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2026
-
Miami Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2026
-
Grand Prix De Monaco 2026
-
Gran Premio de Barcelona-Catalunya 2026
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2026
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2026
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2026
-
Dutch Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2026
-
Gran Premio de España 2026
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2026
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2026
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2026
-
Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2026
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2026
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Editorial & corporate information
Avenue HQ
10–12 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 2BH
United Kingdom Regional correspondence
View contact page