Lewis Hamilton told he shares one F1 similarity with Max Verstappen in 2025, ‘they don’t care…’

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Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have shared one of the most intense Formula 1 rivalries of the 21st century.

Nowadays, they’re not that close to each other in the drivers’ championship, meaning that the stakes aren’t quite as high when they do come across each other on track.

Hamilton has suffered a tough first season with Ferrari in 2025 and is yet to step onto the podium in red following a Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, Verstappen’s hopes of a fifth consecutive crown have been dashed by a poor run of car development at Red Bull. They have both endured a difficult period.

Hamilton’s ‘strange’ comment worries Jacques Villeneuve after he admitted to being ‘useless’ at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break.

Meanwhile, F1 fans told Verstappen to ‘relax’ after he went off track during practice for the Dutch Grand Prix. It was an unusual mistake from the four-time champion on home soil.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen told Mercedes rivals will ‘definitely’ be interested in signing him after 2026

Karun Chandhok insists Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen don’t ‘care’ about finishing third in F1

Although this season has been partially miserable, F1 ‘insiders’ have good news for Hamilton about his car for 2026.

There’s a chance that Verstappen could ‘explode’ at Red Bull if his machine isn’t an improvement next season, and may lead to fears that Mercedes could be back in a position to target him in the future.

Speaking about the comparisons between the two on Sky Sports F1, Karun Chandhok mentioned that he believes the two champions are similar in not caring about finishing in third place.

“I think his [Verstappen’s] motivation is going to be individual race wins. I think he’s chasing individual results. I don’t question his commitment on a week-in, week-out basis,” he said.

“What I question is whether he’s actually looking at the points to see whether he finishes third, fourth, [or] fifth. People like Lewis and Max, given the level of success they’ve had in the past.

“I bet if you asked Lewis how many times he has finished third in the world championship, he would have no idea. They don’t care, they exist to win, and that’s what they’re here for.”

READ MORE: Max Verstappen deliberately fined £50k to put ‘pressure’ on Lewis Hamilton during iconic 2021 title fight

Why Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have a licence to have fun for the rest of 2025

While Hamilton has to help Ferrari try and achieve second in the constructors’ standings, there is little to fight for at Red Bull.

Depending on how Mercedes perform, there could be little for Verstappen or Hamilton to be fighting for in the final five races or so.

It means they have a licence to have some fun. Verstappen’s relationship with Laurent Mekies must get ‘better’ if they want to find results again, which is one thing to work on.

Meanwhile, Hamilton is in a ‘messed up’ situation and needs to try and stay as close to teammate Charles Leclerc as possible if he wants to avoid being relegated to number two driver status.