Verstappen amazes Hulkenberg: 'It's very impressive'

Praise for Verstappen

"It's phenomenal," judges Hulkenberg in the latest episode of Beyond the Grid. The German thinks it is incredibly clever what Verstappen manages to perform week in, week out. "He's just delivering regardless of the circumstances. Regardless of the track, the time of day or whether it rains, snows or it's 40 degrees. He's just always there. Max is killing it this year, there's no way around it."

Yet after the first four Grands Prix, it might have seemed that Verstappen actually had to reckon with teammate Sergio Perez in the battle for the world title. That thought has been unrealistic for months, but two of the first four races were won by the Mexican in the then-new RB19.

According to Hulkenberg, it is not surprising that it is always a bit of a search at the beginning of the year, even for the Dutch two-time world champion. " I think at the beginning of the season, he started strong but needed to get into the groove. Once he got into the groove, he got full of confidence. Regardless of circumstances, he's always able to get 100% out of the package and himself. It's very impressive," said 'The Hulk'.

Relations between drivers

In the podcast, Hulkenberg also talks about the relationships between the drivers. Whereas before there seemed to be only hatred and envy between Formula 1 drivers, in recent years it seems to be very different. Verstappen, Lando Norris, George Russell and Alexander Albon, for instance, recently went paddling. Even before the session, the 20 men often seek each other out, noting that the atmosphere is very good.

Yet, according to Hulkenberg, it is not extremely different from before. "I think everyone rubs along pretty well. Thinks get a bit heated between drivers when there's the occasional issue and stuff that happens on track. Compared to the start of my career, I don't think it's very different. Maybe slightly. Back in the day, social media wasn't a thing. You wouldn't have had those pictures of the guys playing paddle. Now everything is much more out there, much more visible. It's much more pushed and celebrated. That was a big difference compared to back in the day."