Lewis Hamilton does not like to compare his battle with Max Verstappen to any past rivalries that have occured in different eras of Formula 1. The 2021 title fight between Hamilton and Verstappen boiled over at the British Grand Prix, with Verstappen crashing out of the race on the first lap following a collision with the Mercedes driver. Following this incident, comparisons have been made likening the Hamilton-Verstappen rivalry to that of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Whilst Hamilton can acknowledge that the current type of wheel-to-wheel racing is just as exciting as in the past, the seven-time World Champion prefers not to compare the present era with former battles. "I remember when I first started watching [F1] and particularly rewatching footage of the Senna-Prost period," Hamilton told RacingNews365.com and other select media, when asked whether his fight with Verstappen is like this previous rivalry, and whether it is good for the sport. "At the time it was just exciting. I had no idea whether that was good or bad for the sport. Today I think, [when I was] growing up racing, wheel-to-wheel racing was always the best in karting. "If you look, the most exciting times in motorsport is when you see wheel-to-wheel racing. We're now seeing, fortunately, two teams [who are] incredibly close in performance. "I don't like to compare it to past drivers or past champions. It's a new era, a new time. But I would imagine it's not bad for the sport. "I think we are trying to continuously improve the sport and how we engage with the fans, and provide them with the most exciting races. If there's more people watching that tells you everything." Hamilton took over the lead at the top of the Drivers' Standings before F1's summer break commenced, with the British driver now eight points ahead of Verstappen. The season will resume with the Belgian Grand Prix on 27-29 August.
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