Jos Verstappen is expecting an 'intense and beautiful year' as his son Max Verstappen goes up against 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton for the F1 title.

Battle lines have already been drawn this year in Formula 1 with both Hamilton and Verstappen taking a win in the first two rounds and they're separated by just a point in the current Drivers' standings.

So far, things have been fairly amicable between the pair, despite their wheel-to-wheel battles already generating real excitement both in Bahrain and at Imola, but there is a general feeling as the season progresses and the pressure ramps up we may see the two try to get under one another's skin.

It's the nature of the sport that when two drivers go head-to-head like this we see dramatic flashpoints on track and for former Arrows, Benetton and Stewart driver Verstappen, we are in for a gripping year.

Speaking to Dutch presenter Jack van Gelder on Instagram Live, Verstappen Snr suggested that there's more friction to come after the two shared a shoulder bump at Imola after qualifying during the post-session interviews:

"You don't know how it will go, but if I look at the shoulder thrust they gave each other after qualifying at Imola, I think we can expect something this year.

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"They are both men who do not want to be inferior to each other. Neither of them will let the other push them aside, especially if it will be more and more about the title. I think it's going to be an intense and beautiful year."

The sport needs big names and big rivalries and, in recent years, we've perhaps not always had that, such has been the dominance Lewis Hamilton has enjoyed.

His battle with Nico Rosberg was particularly engrossing, of course, and at times with Sebastian Vettel there were some good battles but this season up against Verstappen could well see a rivalry born that's capable of matching some of the great duels we've seen in the sport's history.

Indeed, Jos Verstappen is clearly of the opinion that further incident and drama is a matter of when and not if and, as fans of the sport, we can't wait to see that unfold.