Qualitative naval rivalry differs from a nationalist numbers race

Was Anglo-American naval competition more patriotic while the Anglo-German naval race became nationalist?

Broadly yes: qualitative competition can remain technical and patriotic, while a numbers race linked to national status and a place in the sun tends toward nationalism.

Anglo-American naval competition is compared with the more confrontational Anglo-German race. A qualitative contest can remain a patriotic rivalry centred on technical claims that one side's ships are better. A numerical race tied to status and a national place in the sun moves toward nationalism because fleet size becomes proof of political standing. The distinction separates professional or technological competition from the mass political meaning attached to naval expansion.