Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has rejected Lewis Hamilton’s suggestion that he could be feeling the pressure of their F1 championship fight.
Hamilton said he “remembers what it was like battling for my first championship and “knows the pressure that comes with it”.
But Verstappen found that funny and replied sarcastically: “I am so nervous I can barely sleep! It is so horrible to fight for a title. If someone knows me, I am very relaxed about all those things.”
Verstappen and Hamilton will face off again on Sunday in Russia, two weeks after crashing together during the Italian Grand Prix.
Verstappen is on top of the standings with five-point lead in front of the seven-time champion with eight races remaining on the calendar.
“What’s important is we continue to race hard but fair. I have no doubts we will both be professional and learn from the past,” Hamilton said.
Remembering his first championship campaign in his debut season with McLaren in 2007, Hamilton emphasized he was not going to make an assumption about Verstappen.
“I am just saying I remember what it was like and it definitely mounted up. It was difficult. It was intense. I was going through a lot of different emotions and I didn’t always handle it the best and that’s to be expected.”
Verstappen has his own point of view regarding the fight for the crown.
“I am very chilled. It is the best feeling ever to have a car, a great car, where you can go into every weekend and you can fight for a win.”
“Those comments just show you that he really doesn’t know me. Which is fine. I also don’t really need to know him, how he is fully. I just focus on myself and I really enjoy it out there at the front and hopefully, we can do that for a very long time.”
