Lewis Hamilton loved hunting down ‘one of the greats’ in throwback Max Verstappen F1 duel

Lewis Hamilton says he “loved” hunting down “one of the greats” in Max Verstappen on his way to securing his best result as a Ferrari Formula 1 driver at the Canadian Grand Prix.

In a throwback fight that rekindled memories of their epic 2021 F1 title showdown, Hamilton and Verstappen engaged in a thrilling fight for runner-up spot behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes in Montreal.

Verstappen got the better of Hamilton early on, but the seven-time world champion re-passed the Red Bull driver with a sumptuous overtake around the outside of Turn 1 during a late charge to second.

Even after getting the move done, Hamilton couldn’t shake Verstappen off his tail and had to fend him off right to the chequered flag to seal P2.

"It was awesome, absolutely awesome to fight with one of the greats," Hamilton said.

"It was massively challenging. I think our cars are relatively close. In qualifying, we were relatively close, and I think whilst we're probably a little bit quicker through the corners, everything you gain in the corner, they gain on the straight.

“Obviously, I lost a bit of time, he was quicker at the beginning of the race and then once he got into the medium, I was able to hunt him down. And I love that hunt. That's my whole life has been about that since a kid, since I had a really old go-kart, I was just always hunting.

"So, it was amazing to be back in that position and hunting down a champion up ahead.”

On the tactical element of the duel, Hamilton added: “You have to be so strategic when you have less power as well than others around.

"Even if we have the overtake, even in overtake they still have more power in the straights. So, finding a way, I was just having to do these calculations, trying to figure out how to maximise the amount of power on my battery bar each straight and make sure that I have enough at that particular point.

"And, yeah, thank god I managed to pull it off. And it's a great feeling when you overtake as well. So, these cars are awesome to be able to follow.”

Verstappen, who claimed his first podium finish of a frustrating season so far for Red Bull, enjoyed his battle with Hamilton.

"It was very good. I enjoyed it a lot,” he said. "I think also when you are within a second at this track, we are very energy poor around here, and of course when you are within a second, you're allowed to spend a bit more energy, so then on the straights of course you gain a bit of speed and around here that is very efficient actually.

"The last few laps I tried to get back, but it was good. We were pushing flat out and it was just very nice for me."