Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are the most successful drivers on the F1 2025 grid, yet they were the first to arrive at the Miami Autodrome, with Verstappen pointing that out.

Verstappen and Hamilton had a bitter rivalry in 2021 as they went wheel-to-wheel for the World title, their battle including two serious crashes, one apiece.

Max Verstappen: You see that, by the way?

But even in the heat of their championship battle, there was respect as pointed out by Grand Prix Drivers’ Association chairman Alex Wurz.

“They have real tremendous respect for each other. I’ve been in meetings with both of them. I respect them dearly,” said the former F1 driver. “[They are] sensational drivers.”

The rivalry and the tension have waned in the years since as Verstappen emerged as a four-time World Champion while Hamilton has struggled in Formula 1’s ground-effect aerodynamic era.

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There was another sign of this in Miami on Saturday when Verstappen climbed out of his car and pointed out to people gathered near the paddock entrance well before the start of the day’s action that only two drivers had already arrived; himself and Hamilton.

“You see that, by the way?” he said. “Seven-time World Champion, four-time World Champion – the first in.”

Both World Champions have been applauded in the past for their worth ethic, first in and first out as they push themselves and their teams to give their best.

Christian Horner said of Verstappen last season after he came back from a 10-race winless streak to wrap up his fourth World title: “Max never panicked. Even on the tough days, he spent the long hours with the engineers really rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck in.

“Working behind the scenes on the simulator, spending the time with vehicle dynamicists and aerodynamicists just talking through ‘OK, this is where you need to focus, this is where the key issue is with this one’, based on what he’s feeling”.

It’s a trait that Sergio Perez noted when he first joined Red Bull, telling Sky F1: “From the first lap in FP1 to the last lap on Sunday he is 110 per cent. You see with other drivers that they have days off. He doesn’t do that and is delivering at a very high level.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton’s former Mercedes team-mate George Russell highlighted the Briton’s efforts as he watched on as a Mercedes reserve driver as the Briton secured his sixth of seven World titles in 2019.

“There’s a number of different perceptions of how Lewis’s commitment is over the course of the year,” said Russell.

“He’s got a number of different activities he does and he’s an extremely talented driver but when he comes to the track he will work his arse off to maximise everything – pushing the team in such an amazing direction, really motivating everybody.

“He’s worked really hard at it, so that was kind of refreshing for me, that a guy like him isn’t just relying on his talent and it just comes to him, he’s out there working for it.

“I think that’s something he’s probably improved on as he’s got older. He can’t go out and rely on speed because if the car’s not quite working, you need to be able to push the team forward in the right direction.

“I’m convinced that that’s what he’s been doing over the last few years.”

Verstappen and Hamilton will line up first and 12th in Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.

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