Hamilton missing key Verstappen trait as old F1 rival Rosberg sticks boot in

11 October 2023 , 17:33

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Hamilton missing key Verstappen trait as old F1 rival Rosberg sticks boot in

Max Verstappen's aggression is one of his key traits which sets him apart from Lewis Hamilton, according to the Brit's old Formula 1 rival.

The Dutchman has been more dominant than ever this year, having already sealed the drivers' title with five races still to be run. Verstappen has taken advantage of his extremely quick Red Bull car and suffocated team-mate Sergio Perez early on in the season.

Hamilton, like everyone else, hasn't been able to come close to his 2021 title rival. But that is hardly the seven-time world champion's fault – his less competitive Mercedes car has not been able to give him the race pace required to go wheel-to-wheel with the runaway champion.

So Verstappen is now a triple champion with only five drivers in history above him on the all-time list. Hamilton is one of them and remains some way ahead of the Red Bull racer with seven championship successes to his name.

But he has plenty of time to catch up, given he only turned 26 at the end of September. And 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg is certain that Verstappen will go on to firmly cement his name among the sport's most legendary figures.

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"We're witnessing absolute greatness and he's nearing the all-time greats like Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, [Juan Manuel] Fangio, Ayrton Senna – those kind of names," said the Sky Sports F1 pundit. "It's incredible the level he's performing at, the consistency, the accuracy. Unreal."

Rosberg knows exactly what it's like to go up against a superstar at the peak of their powers. His 2016 title win came at the end of a titanic tussle between him and Mercedes team-mate Hamilton throughout the season.

While Verstappen was still a fledgling F1 rookie when Rosberg retired immediately after getting the better of the Brit that year, the 38-year-old thinks there is not much that separates the two of them in terms of their individual skillsets.

In fact, he could only point out one area in which he thinks the Dutchman might have the edge over Hamilton. "I'm not sure... there are a lot of similarities in terms of raw pace, I would say they're very similar," said the German.

"Then, in terms of aggression, maybe Max is a little bit more aggressive. Although, Lewis – you saw him [in Japan] racing against his own team-mate George Russell – I mean, he knows how to go wheel-to-wheel as well, very aggressively. So there are a lot of similarities."

Daniel Moxon