Hamilton vs. Verstappen: Formula One's greatest litmus test

Punch. Counterpunch.

The heavyweight title fight unfolding between Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is shaping up to be one of the most fascinating and gripping pieces of theatre Formula One has ever produced. It is the illustrious old guard versus the hungry, young superstar. It is the seven-time world champion's clench on the heartbeat of a sport versus the future's obsessive urge to release such a death grip.

Fittingly, it is also, unequivocally, the two best drivers in the sport.

Power and politics have long clouded the debate on who truly deserves to compete on motorsport's most prestigious stage, sponsors, far more often than skill, dictating which Daddy's boys get a handful of the mere 20 seats available. Furthermore, a severe imbalance of wealth between teams regularly denies fans an answer to the question: with equal opportunity, who would actually win?

This year's title fight breaks free from that struggle for clarity. Hamilton and Verstappen, revered by their fanboys and foes, are set up in two extremely similar cars. Through two races, they've traded pole positions and wins, and have equally embarrassed their respective teammates.

This season will go down as F1's greatest litmus test.

It is honed, veteran racecraft versus out-of-this-world talent. It is methodical precision versus raw speed. It is Tried and True versus Knocking On the Door.

But, maybe more than anything, it is adaptation versus evolution.

Take the 36-year-old Hamilton, a legend in the sport, 96 wins, 99 poles, more laps led than any other driver in history and, of course, the aforementioned seven championships. Fresh off his sixth world title in seven years, his team seems to have taken an uncharacteristic step back. Now, Mercedes is in a dog fight with Red Bull, and Hamilton isn't just scrapping with his underwhelming teammate, Valtteri Bottas, for P1.

A new challenge is arising for the greatest front runner in F1's 71-year history, and adapting is his only option.

Compared to his preceding, four-straight world championship seasons, adversity is coming in droves for Hamilton in 2021. It started with Mercedes' putrid showing at pre-season testing in March, Hamilton and his wingman trying their damnedest to wrangle an uncooperative W12 for three days straight. Then Verstappen snatched pole from the Brit in Round 1 in Bahrain, forcing Hamilton to ever so carefully nurse his tyres to fulfill a brilliant strategy, and fend off a surging Red Bull in the final laps.

On Sunday, he faced an even more daunting, uphill climb.

While working his way through back markers on Lap 31, Hamilton juked left onto a damp part of the track in the breaking zone of Turn 7 to pass young Williams driver George Russell. Traction gave way and the No. 44 car slid off the track ever so painfully slowly into the barrier, until there was nowhere for it to go, as the leader of the race drove off into the distance. As Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle pointed out, Hamilton handled the situation perfectly, using low revs to reverse his car back onto the track, avoiding digging himself a hole in the gravel trap. He managed to escape back to the pits, sparks flying from the damage to his front wing, while a nasty crash between Bottas and Russell brought out the red flag and gave him a second chance at glory.

Following the restart, Hamilton did what his teammate couldn't do (Bottas was about to be overtaken by Russell for P9 before the incident that ended his race), and cut through the field at a track where passing has traditionally been difficult, in a car that has been designed to lead, not follow. In the end, it was 18 points for P2 and an extra tally for fastest lap.

We're used to seeing recovery drives from one of the greatest to ever grace the sport, but this was different.

This was not the same Hamilton that demanded to "retire the car" after a shunt and a disastrous pit stop in the 2019 Germany Grand Prix, only to be persuaded by his bosses to continue and end up with a points finish. This was not the same Hamilton that scolded his team for "throwing away a win," due to an ill-advised order to box, in the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.

"Awesome job guys, my apologies for that mistake earlier on," Hamilton said on team radio following the chequered flag on Sunday. "But we live and we learn. On to the next one."

Hamilton's resilience is being tested, and he knows the blows will keep coming. This won't be a fight that climaxes half way through the season (Hamilton has won the past four championships by an average of 86 points, thanks to Bottas and Sebastien Vettel fizzling out when it mattered).

And then there is the 23-year-old Verstappen, son of two-time podium finisher Jos Verstappen and the sport's youngest driver to ever win a race. His growth exponential, as it needed to be. The once reckless, disrespectful and downright moody teenage phenom is peaking at the perfect time, his maturity on and off the track undeniable in his seventh season.

Long gone are the days of irresponsible dive-bombs and dangerous defending. Three weeks ago in Bahrain, Verstappen was such a gentleman to Hamilton when attempting to overtake him into Turn 4 on Lap 53, that it cost him the victory. Then on Sunday, Verstappen found the middle ground between leaving enough space and forcefully pushing your opponent off the track, passing Hamilton into Turn 1 for the lead on the opening lap.

It's becoming increasingly apparent that Verstappen's mindset is shifting, the big picture now impacting his every decision. Berated for being a sore loser early in his career, his response to defeat is different now. He has taken losses in stride through two rounds in 2021, the end goal of a championship the singular motivator, from his perspective.

"It's of course a shame," Verstappen said following his P2 finish in Bahrain. "But you also have to see the positives. We're really putting the fight on to them, and I think that's great, to start the year like that."

On Saturday afternoon in Imola, Verstappen was out-qualified by his teammate for the first time since 2018 and missed out on a front row start.

"Just not a clean lap in Q3," Verstappen said following the session. "Just some odd mistakes, which haven't happened in a long time. So, not a good lap, but nevertheless, we're still up there. And I think we have a good race car. So, it's hopefully going to be an exciting one tomorrow."

That optimism turned into a double overtake into Turn 1 on Sunday and the eventual win.

Improved, too, is the Dutchman's performance under pressure, as fighting at the top becomes more frequent. In three standing starts and two safety car restarts so far this season, Verstappen has walked away with the lead of the race each time. Maybe most impressive was quickly and calmly collecting himself before the red flag restart on Sunday, after nearly bottling it approaching the final corner.

Time will tell if Verstappen can continue putting out fires, as the stress of the championship battle grows. The more his first title becomes a real possibility, the more he'll have to restrain himself from assessing adversity in a vacuum.

The other guy, however, has been in this situation before. Seven times a winner, twice a runner-up, to be exact.

Two races into 2021, one point separates the two.

We're on to Portugal.