The animosity between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen stemming from the 2021 Formula season keeps on giving following the Mercedes driver’s recent comment on his Red Bull rival.

Hamilton had initially cast doubts over the achievements and records of the Dutch driver in an interview ahead of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Formula 1, F1, Italian GP, Russell, De Vries, Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen — Max Verstappen has responded to the claims made by Lewis Hamilton regarding his dominance. Image: Dan Istitene.
Source: Getty Images

Verstappen has now responded to the claim of the seven-time champion in the cheekiest of manners.

What Hamilton said about Verstappen

Ahead of Friday’s free practice session at the Monza circuit, the Mercedes driver spoke to Sky Sports F1.

Asked about Verstappen’s dominance, the British driver said:

"I'm no more impressed than when Michael [Schumacher] was leading, when Sebastian [Vettel] was leading, when Kimi [Raikkonen] was driving when Fernando [Alonso] was winning - same.

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"I mean I think the team as a whole is one of the strongest - they're firing on all cylinders right now.

Verstappen has built a 138-point world championship lead ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, and Hamilton is definitely not pleased.

"In my opinion, all of my teammates have been stronger than the teammates that Max has had.

"Jenson [Button], Fernando, George [Russell], Valtteri [Bottas], and Nico [Rosberg].

"All of these guys have been very strong and consistent, and Max has not raced against anyone like that."

Verstappen’s response to Hamiliton

When quizzed about the comments of his 2021 rival, Verstappen was unconcerned about what Hamilton had to say and rather dwelled on the fact that Mercedes have had a tough time dealing with recent losses after being the dominant force in Formula 1 for eight years.

Quoted to RacingNews365, the Dutch driver said:

“Maybe he’s a little jealous of my current success,”

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“This kind of statement… he possibly thinks he’s winning something with that, but it makes no difference to me.”

“You can keep shouting and screaming that what we do is not that special… you just have to deal with yourself.”

Both drivers will go head to head again at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, although it cannot be ignored the fact that Mercedes and Hamilton have been no match for the dominant Redbull RB19.