Grosjean full of praise: "You will never see Verstappen struggling"
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- GPblog.com
Romain Grosjean is impressed by the level of performance Lewis Hamilton has shown in recent years. The Frenchman sees the seven times world champion making very few mistakes, even though he is being chased by Max Verstappen. Grosjean also has high praise for the Red Bull Racing driver.
"This is mega. So good to watch. I watched the race in Bahrain and afterwards I was very impressed with how Lewis had driven," Grosjean says in the podcast Beyond the Grid about the opening race of the 2021 season. Hamilton won there, after Verstappen was forced to give back his position after going four wheels off track in an overtaking move on the current world championship leader. However, the fight for the title is undiminished in its excitement. "That's so nice to watch."
Verstappen gives Hamilton a duel
The Frenchman sees Hamilton having to work harder for it than before. "He has had some easy wins in recent years, but the one in Bahrain showed why he is a world champion, why he was so strong in the junior categories and why he could compete with Fernando Alonso in Formula One straight away," he explained.
The big challenger to the Mercedes driver this season is Verstappen. The 23-year-old Limburger finished first once and second three times this year. "Max is always flat out. The fact is that he always goes flat out from lap one to the chequered flag, or rather from free practice to the end of the race. He is always really pushing it and looking for a way to go fast. Even if his teammate is struggling a bit, you will never see Max struggling. He will always find a way to get to a good lap time."
Grosjean impressed by Hamilton
Grosjean can't stop talking about Hamilton's qualities. "He doesn't make mistakes, very rarely. He made one in Imola but recovered well. But generally in tricky conditions, like Turkey, last year is a good example with the wet he has been excellent. Valtteri had a nightmare afternoon, but Lewis stayed on track, clinched his seventh world title and made no mistakes."
The man himself, who will be active in IndyCar from 2021, has also had the opportunity to fight with Hamilton on the tarmac a few times in the past. The Brit did not play dirty games. "Every time we raced, it has been good to race. With some guys on the grid, I knew it would be good in battles. Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis, Daniel Ricciardo, those guys you knew you could have a good fight," he praised.