Former world champion Nelson Piquet senior (68) sees Max Verstappen as a better Formula 1 driver than Lewis Hamilton. He explained that in an interview with motorsport-total .
“First of all we have to keep in mind that Formula 1 is a category with different cars, so it is very difficult to make a direct comparison between two drivers if they are not on the same team but if Max would drive for Mercedes, am I’m sure it would crush Hamilton, “said Piquet, who became Formula 1 world champion in 1981, 1983 and 1987.
Verstappen is more aggressive than the seven-time world champion, who had by far the best car in the field at Mercedes over the past few years. “Because of this aggressiveness he might make mistakes more often, but in my opinion he is better than Hamilton. It is too easy for Hamilton to win everything with Bottas as the second driver at his side,” said the 68-year-old.
At the start of the Formula 1 season in 2021, however, Hamilton was ahead by a nose. Verstappen, who had dominated the practice sessions and qualifying, finished second in the race. A few laps before the end, his overtaking maneuver against the British was withdrawn because the track limits were exceeded.
Not only the current team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who has occupied the second cockpit next to Hamilton at Mercedes since 2017, but also Nico Rosberg criticized Piquet: “It’s not that Hamilton is not good. But he has an inferior driver at his side and that previous one was even worse. “
The German and Hamilton drove together for the Silver Arrows from 2013 to 2016. While the 36-year-old Brit won the title in 2014 and 2015, Rosberg became world champion in 2016.
