F1 News
"Hamilton's personality is the polar opposite of Verstappen's"
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
It's no secret how highly Max Verstappen is rated within his own team, with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing advisor Dr Helmut Marko picking out just three drivers on the current grid that are well-matched to the Dutchman.
Verstappen had his most successful season in F1 to date last season, winning three races and grabbing two pole positions as he finished the season in third place in the championship.
Speaking to German news outlet Motorsport-Magazin, Marko thinks there are just three drivers who he considers to be on the 22-year-old's level.
"First of all Lewis Hamilton," the 76-year-old explained. "That's obvious, given his consistency and his speed. In terms of personality and appearance, he's like a polar opposite of Hamilton. Leclerc is next, he's shown some incredible results already."
As much as Hamilton and Verstappen differ off the track, Marko thinks the difference between the duo on-track will mainly be a product of the cars they're in. He knows what he and his team have to do to give Verstappen the opportunity to fight Mercedes.
"Like Mercedes, we need a car that might not be the quickest everywhere but that can compete everywhere."
After Hamilton and Leclerc, Marko mentions one more driver he thinks is on Verstappen's level, and that is his former pupil Sebastian Vettel.
"I'm certainly not writing off Vettel yet. When he gets back up, he gets a car that suits him and the support from the team, he'll be right back at the top.
"He now has a teammate who always drives on the limit. That made Vettel get out of his comfort zone and really fight. He can do that, but whether he's still completely motivated - we'll see this year."