F1 champion Max Verstappen warned over INFAMOUS Lewis Hamilton rivalry

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen face off before the 2025 F1 season — Photo: © IMAGO

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Verstappen warned over INFAMOUS Hamilton rivalry

Former F1 rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fought fiercely in 2021

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 20 February 2025 22:00

Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen has been warned over his infamous past rivalry with icon of the sport Lewis Hamilton.

With the 2025 season opener less than one month away, fans and pundits are eager to see how each team and driver will fare against one other as the sport enjoys one final year of racing before new regulations are introduced in 2026.

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Whilst the 2025 championship appears to be all to play for, long-term F1 fans will recall how 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.

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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.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were previously fierce F1 rivals

Ex-F1 star reveals huge Red Bull issue

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’s problem this year. I'd be surprised if Red Bull comes out swinging like the last few years."

"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?"

Red Bull head into 2025 without the talent of Adrian Newey (left) among their ranks

"If you're saying you're building the car wrong and you realize 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."

Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Abu Dhabi