Sky Sports pundit Johnny Herbert was "disappointed" by Max Verstappen after the Dutchman snubbed his 2021 battles with Lewis Hamilton in favour of his current rivalry with Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen and Hamilton became bitter enemies as last season progressed, culminating in a fiery conclusion to the title race which went down to the wire. The ending was controversial and continues to split opinion, but until that point everyone was hooked on the most exciting Formula 1 title race in years.
The action this year has still been entertaining, though it looks unlikely that we will get such a close-run championship again. Red Bull are running away with it in both tables, with Ferrari reliability issues and Leclerc errors gifting them massive leads.
Meanwhile, Hamilton and Mercedes are a long way off, having struggled for pace this season. Their lack of competitiveness has denied fans the chance to see a continuation of the fierce fight which gripped the sporting world in the second half of last year.
But Verstappen is not too bothered about the easier ride as he looks to defend his maiden F1 title. And, speaking to Sky Sports, the 24-year-old did not seem to miss having Hamilton as a close rival either.
"I prefer what we have now," he said. "First of all, Charles, I know very well. He's a nice guy, we are a similar age, we're only three weeks apart. Also, we are fighting a very well-respected competitor in terms of Ferrari. When they win a race, we can go to them and say 'well done'. And when we win a race they can say 'well done'. I really respect that.
"And certain people within the team... Mattia [Binotto, team principal], I have a really good relationship with him. Even on Saturday night, we had a laugh in Paul Ricard. That's great because I think that's what racing should be about. We are hard competitors on the track but outside of it, you can have a good time as well. That's what I really enjoy about this year."
Those comments left ex-racer and pundit Herbert baffled as he described what Verstappen had said as "disappointing in many respects". He added: "He seems to just dismiss Lewis straight away and then he was straight onto Ferrari and Charles and battles they've had.
"I thought he was liking the battles they were having on track [last year] but clearly there, not at all. I don't understand why his comments would be so negative towards Lewis and the battles they had last year. I'm quite perplexed."
