19/05/2021
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen reacts to Lewis Hamilton's suggestion that he feels "he has a lot to prove", the Dutchman insisting that he feels no such thing.
Not for the first time this season, one cannot help but feel that mind games are going on as the battle between Red Bull and Mercedes hots up.
Whether it's Toto Wolff or Lewis Hamilton, neither appear to miss an opportunity to take a swipe at their title rivals, even to the point of applying added pressure by suggesting Red Bull and Max Verstappen head into the Monaco weekend as favourites.
Hamilton was at it again today, taking a none-too-subtle swipe at his Dutch rival.
"There is a nice balanced amount of respect between us," the Briton told reporters when asked if he feared the title battle might result in comings together.
"Perhaps, as you know, he feels that he has a lot to prove but I am not necessarily in the same boat there," he deftly added, "I am more long term. It's a marathon not a sprint, sort of mentality, which is ultimately why I have the stats that I have.
"I will continue with that and I will do everything to make sure that we do avoid connecting."
Subsequently told of the world champion's comments, it was clear they had had the desired effect.
"I have nothing to prove," snapped the Dutchman. "And avoiding contact... I think it goes both ways, so we have done well, that's true.
"But we raced hard, we avoided the contact, both sides, let's hope we can keep doing that and keep being on track and race hard against each other."
Thus far, Monaco has not been a happy hunting ground for the youngster, whose best result was 4th in 2019 but was subsequently demoted to 4th after being handed a 5s time penalty for an unsafe release.
"So far in Monaco, a few mistakes from my side, a bit unlucky in races, it's not been the best for me so far," he admitted, "but it would be, of course, a nice weekend to turn that around here.
"It's been a bit up and down," he continued. "2016 and '18, we did have a good car here, and the other years, since I was with the team, it was not that easy, let's say it like that.
"It just all depends on the competitiveness of the car from the start. For a few years we were a bit off, and then some other years I think we had a better start to the year.
"Of course so far this year, it seems like we've had a competitive start, so I just hope that it's going to be the same here. I'm sure that we will have a competitive car."
Check out our Wednesday gallery from Monaco, here.