Hamilton dealt major BLOW with Verstappen defeat

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has once again been defeated by his old enemy Max Verstappen, in a major blow to the 39-year-old.

Hamilton and Verstappen competed in one of the fiercest championship battles the sport has ever seen in 2021, when they went into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix level on points following a season of collisions, controversies and radio rants.

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Verstappen eventually won out in controversial circumstances, after then-race director Michael Masi seemingly ripped up the rule book to allow lapped cars through under the safety car, leaving the championship protagonists to race on the final lap.

While Masi has since been displaced from his role following the saga, Hamilton is still looking for an unprecedented eighth world championship title, and his and Mercedes' form has fallen off a cliff since 2021.

Verstappen ahead of Hamilton again

Verstappen, meanwhile, has gone on to dominate the sport, winning three drivers' championship titles in a row and steam rolling his way towards a fourth in 2024.

In 2023, the Dutchman managed to claim 19 of the 22 race victories in the season, breaking a plethora of records along the way.

Now, Verstappen has once again managed to get the better of Hamilton in a list of sport's 50 most influential figures of the past year.

In a thinly-veiled swipe at Hamilton, the seven-time champion is listed as an 'influencer', while Verstappen is classed as an 'athlete' and sits among the likes of Erling Haaland and Patrick Mahomes.

Sports Illustrated's list puts Verstappen up in 17th, while you have to scroll quite far down to find Hamilton in 45th.

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