Lewis Hamilton opens up on his relationship with Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton has discussed his relationship with Formula One title rival Max Verstappen, admitting they are alike in their ruthlessness.

The Mercedes star was pipped to the title by Red Bull‘s Verstappen in highly controversial circumstances last season, with a bitter on- and off-track rivalry boiling over at points, particularly after their dangerous crash at Monza.

But speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the new season, Hamilton conceded that ‘some days we get it wrong’.

He said: ‘You’ve got to be careful because obviously the way the media hypes up the drama, also create a narrative (of rivalry) to the fans.

‘For me and Max, we see each other in the paddock, things are normal – we’re two individual drivers. We have a lot in common in the sense of we love what we do, driving, but then on the other side, we’re ruthless. He is ruthless, I am.

‘We are fighters out there. There are no friends on track. It’s like when you go skiing, there are no friends on the powder! Some days we get it right, some days we get it wrong.

‘What’s really important is when we get back out we’re human beings and we do keep respect’.

Former F1 driver Anthony Davidson has claimed Hamilton feels ‘robbed’ and wants to ‘destroy’ Verstappen in this year’s title battle after the contentious Abu Dhabi finale.

Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the last lap of the last race of the season at Yas Marina after now-sacked race director Michael Masi applied race rules inconsistently.

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