Lewis Hamilton riled Max Verstappen on Wednesday ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix suggesting the Red Bull driver "feels he has a lot to prove". The Mercedes seven-time champion leads Verstappen by 14 points after four races in what is emerging as a gripping two-horse race for the 2021 drivers crown. The pair have produced some electric wheel-to-wheel action and Hamilton acknowledged the "respect between us". Their two cars have touched only once, at the first corner in Imola, with Hamilton saying: "I think I`ve done well to avoid all the incidents so far, but we`ve got 19 more (races) to go and we could connect, hopefully not." He added: "I think perhaps (Max) feels he has a lot to prove. 

"I`m not necessarily in the same boat there and I`m more long-term, `it`s a marathon not a sprint` sort of mentality, which is ultimately why I have the stats that I have. "So I`ll continue with that and I`ll do everything to make sure that we avoid connecting." "I have nothing to prove" Verstappen bristled when appearing later at the same Monaco media briefing. "And avoiding contact, I think it goes both ways. So we have done well, that`s true. But we race hard, we`ve avoided contact both sides, so let`s hope we can keep doing that and keep being on track and racing hard against each other." Monaco`s iconic street circuit is back on the F1 menu after last year`s race was dropped from the coronavirus-disrupted season. The presence of 7,500 fans is also an indication that slowly and gradually a degree of normalcy is returning to the sport`s landscape.