'Verstappen is at same level of Senna, Schumacher and Hamilton'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen is currently the man to beat in Formula 1. At Silverstone, he won his sixth race in a row and the lead over teammate Sergio Perez has already risen to 99 points. In an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca, former world champion Nico Rosberg gives his views on this F1 season and Verstappen's dominance.
"Max Verstappen is a phenomenal driver. For me, he is already on the level of the biggest names in history, like a Senna, Schumacher or Hamilton," said the 2016 world champion. However, Rosberg also sees that, as in his time with the Mercedes team, Red Bull has given him a fantastic car. During Mercedes' dominant period, Red Bull and Ferrari only managed to win a few races. So far, the races of the 2023 season have all been won by a Red Bull Racing driver.
Rosberg recognises himself in Perez
In addition, Rosberg also makes a comparison between him and Sergio Perez. The German himself drove alongside Lewis Hamilton from 2013 to the end of 2016. During this period, Hamilton ran away with two world titles and Rosberg took the title himself in the final race in 2016. Rosberg therefore knows what Perez has to go through as a teammate of a top driver. "All of Max's teammates started strongly at Red Bull, so did Perez. I know Sergio well and he is a very good driver, but it is impossible for him to be close to Verstappen and that is something that must be very difficult for him mentally. After all, he has to accept that his teammate is the better one.''