Hakkinen praises Verstappen: "Max’s Red Bull is the only competitor Mercedes face"
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- GPblog.com
Mika Hakkinen was impressed with Max Verstappen and his display at Imola despite the Dutchman retiring from the race. Furthermore, Hakkinen hopes that Fernando Alonso will get a competitive car at Renault in 2021.
"As we have seen all year, Max’s Red Bull is the only competitor Mercedes face," Hakkinen observed in his column for Unibet. The double world champion was once again impressed by the performance of Verstappen. "Again he did a really good job. Max overtook Lewis at the start, put the maximum pressure on Valtteri."
Second podium for Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo took full advantage of the retirement of his former teammate. It was the second time in three races that the Renault driver was on the podium. "Building momentum is so important in sport, and we can see that Renault and Daniel have made really good progress this season, thanks in part to the arrival of my former McLaren colleague Pat Fry," said Hakkinen.
The now 52-year-old Finn hopes that Renault will be able to extend its current form into 2021. "Alonso will be watching these results very carefully because if he is given a car capable of podium finishes it will add a lot to the excitement of Formula 1 next season."