Dutch GP 2021: Verstappen lauded by 'greatest rival' Hamilton on retaking F1 title lead

Lewis Hamilton has been dominating the Formula 1 circuit for a long time and has won four consecutive titles between 2017 to 2020 and when he won the F1 Championship last year, the Mercedes icon ended up equaling the legendary Michael Schumacher's record of seven drivers' titles.

In the 2021 season, Lewis Hamilton looked forward to continuing his splendid run to win a fifth consecutive as well as eighth F1 Championship but has found a fierce competitor in Red Bull's Max Verstappen who has so far given Hamilton a run for his money this season.

Lately, Lewis Hamilton has appreciated Max Verstappen for his outstanding performance on the race track which has made the 2021 Formula 1 season even more interesting.

Dutch Grand Prix 2021: Lewis Hamilton sends congratulatory message to Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen came out on top in the recently-concluded Dutch Grand Prix 2021 and after he finished on top of the podium in his home country, he was congratulated by his Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton for retaking the F1 title lead.

“What a race, what a crowd. It’s been an amazing weekend. Max did an incredible job so a huge congratulations to him. I gave it absolutely everything", said Lewis Hamilton after the race.

Who won the Dutch Grand Prix 2021?

By the virtue of this dominant win at this year's Dutch Grand Prix, Max Verstappen has leapfrogged Lewis Hamilton to the top of the Drivers' Championship after winning his seventh race of the season.

After 13 races of a thrilling Formula One title fight, the Red Bull driver is three points ahead of the reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton who seeks a record eighth F1 title to move one ahead of Michael Schumacher. 

Verstappen is chasing his first F1 crown and will take some stopping, considering he leads Hamilton 7-4 for wins and 7-3 in pole positions.

F1 Championship standings 2021

Currently, Red Bull's Max Verstappen occupies the 'Numero Uno' spot in the F1 Championship standings 2021 (Drivers). The 23-year-old racer has accumulated 224.5 points with seven wins and 10 podium finishes, the seven-time F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton is at the second spot with 221.5 points that include four wins and 10 podiums. His Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas (123 points), McLaren's Lando Norris (114), and Max Verstappen's Red Bull teammate  Sergio Pérez (108) take the third. fourth and fifth spots respectively.