"If I had been in his car, the season would have been decided long ago": Max Verstappen claims he would've secured F1 title in Lewis Hamilton's car

Max Verstappen has claimed he would have won the 2021 F1 title if he had a car as strong as Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. The young Dutchman spoke about his ongoing rivalry with the defending world champion ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In an interview with Dutch publication De Telegraaf, Max Verstappen claimed that the season would have ended a lot sooner if he had been given a car as strong and competitive as Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.

The Dutchman implied that the Briton has the strongest car of the two. When asked if he believes he is the best driver on the grid, he said:

“I think you should be like that if you're a Formula 1 driver. So I say yes, absolutely! But I don't need to hear that from anyone else. I don't need that recognition. I find it much more important what I think myself, and what the people who are close to me think. If I had been in his car, the season would have been decided long ago.”

The interview also touched on claims of Verstappen being an overly aggressive driver. He defended himself and said:

"Some people find me aggressive, others very aggressive and some people don't. I think I am myself. The last few races, I have to defend more, because we are a bit slower. I don't have the luxury of checking a lead or driving away now. And yes, I do everything I can to win. If I don't think like that, I'd better stay home. If I hadn't had that attitude, we wouldn't be here with an equal number of points. Then he was already champion.”

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Max Verstappen takes pole at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Max Verstappen successfully outperformed his rival and defending world champion Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday evening. The Dutchman will start on pole in tomorrow's showdown, beating Hamilton by nearly 0.4 seconds.

Although pole position might seem like an outright advantage to Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, he will start tomorrow's race on the soft compound tires. That's because he had locked up and flat-spotted his medium tires earlier in the session. FIA rules state the driver must start the race on the same compound with which they set their fastest lap in Q2.

With tire strategies coming into play, tomorrow's grand finale is set to be one for the ages. Catch the action live for one final time this season as Max Verstappen takes on Lewis Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.