Hill full of admiration for Verstappen: "Very impressive driver and personality"

Damon Hill has not always been very mild in his opinion about Max Verstappen, but lately the Red Bull Racing driver has been getting nothing but praise from the former Formula 1 driver. Hill saw Verstappen's 'extraordinary talent' shine again during the Grand Prix of Japan.

Hill once again full of praise for Verstappen

"It's difficult to overtake at Suzuka, so taking a pole position is crucial. But Max has just shown again what an incredible driver he is. His talent is extraordinary and he fully exploits it. Max really maximizes himself - no pun intended. A very impressive driver and personality within the sport", praises Hill the four-time world champion in the podcast The Fast and the Curious.

The 1996 F1 world champion emphasizes that although McLaren is the clear favorite for the world title, Verstappen is far from being discounted: "He will of course not be forgotten. And they only need a little bit - we are now in the final phase of this regulation, while the teams are also under pressure to come up with a completely new car for next year. It is difficult to make big strides now. It's like trying to squeeze the last drops of water from a sponge. They wring as hard as they can to find some more time, but the margins are now hundredths of a second."

"It's really about minimal differences", Hill adds. "A gust of wind can make the difference. How do you find two tenths then? If someone has an extra two tenths, it becomes really difficult to beat Max. And when you look at the performances of Yuki and Liam Lawson, you also see that this is not an easy car to drive. It really takes something from Max's skills to make this car work well."

This article was written in collaboration with Nicole Mulder