Rosberg positive about Verstappen: "Max is one of the best drivers ever"

F1 News

4 May 2021 at 15:10
Last update 4 May 2021 at 16:08
  • GPblog.com

Nico Rosberg was a hot topic after the Portuguese Grand Prix. His remarks were so striking that Max Verstappen was confronted with them during the press conference after the race. According to former world champion Rosberg, Verstappen now realised how strong Lewis Hamilton really was.

Perez, Albon or Gasly?

Whether Rosberg is really of that opinion or just wanted to mark his performance in his last F1 season with these comments, opinions are divided. Yet the Finnish German also sees the strength of Verstappen and is not purely negative. He notes this when asked on Sky Italia, where Rosberg did reporting work for last weekend, about the difficult second seat at Red Bull Racing.

Rosberg says Perez likes him so far, but that it is far too late to conclude whether he is indeed better than the fallen Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly: "Sergio will have to be competitive straight away for Red Bull this year, if only because with two drivers at the front you have a tactical advantage."

One of the greats

Still, it's not easy sitting next to a strong and far from learned Verstappen: "Max is one of the best drivers we've ever seen in Formula 1. Perez still has a hard time with that. He has already indicated that he needs to get used to the car, so only when that happens can we really say whether he is better than Albon or Gasly," concludes Rosberg.