16 May 2023 , 09:20
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Sky F1 presenter Natalia Pinkham says the battle between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez reminds her of Lewis Hamilton 's old rivalry with Nico Rosberg.
Dutchman Verstappen and Mexican Perez - both of Red Bull - sit first and second respectively in the leaderboard five races into the 2023 World Championship. From 2012 to 2016, childhood friends Rosberg and Hamilton were locked in what was dubbed the 'Silver Arrows War'.
During their four seasons together, Mercedes won three Drivers' Championships (two for Hamilton, one for Rosberg) yet team boss Toto Wolff later admitted that he was considering dropping both of the drivers if the tension continued. Rosberg then retired in 2016 to end the bitter inter-team rivalry.
Now there's a new battle playing out, with both Verstappen and Perez enjoying a run in the dominant Red Bull car. Verstappen, 25, is already a two-time world champion, while 33-year-old Perez is still waiting for his maiden title as the underdog of the duo, as Rosberg was compared to Hamilton's seemingly boundless excellence.
Pinkham couldn't help but compare the two rivalries, explaining on Sky Sports' F1 Podcast : "It reminds me a lot of Rosberg and Lewis, I think he's going to have to find something else. He is going to have to find a weakness in Max that he can exploit in order to beat him.
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"Max is very much in the driving seat. There's no shame in that, though. Rosberg, fair play to him, worked very hard, which is one of the reasons why he retired. It took so much out of him to win that one world championship and if Perez can take the world title then you know he'll have earned it."
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were inter-team rivals for Mercedes (Clive Mason/Getty Images)Have your say! Do you agree with Natalie Pinkham? Join the debate in the comments section.
She also noted: "I believe [Perez] has stepped it up. I don't believe it will be enough. This car does seem better suited to him and I think Saturday [in Miami] was a surprise for him that he was on pole. I think it's going to be very frustrating for Sergio because he has to be at his very best week in, week out. Whereas Max, even an A- is enough for Max to win a race."
The two Red Bull drivers will next be in action on Sunday when the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix takes place in Imola, Italy. Fans are expecting another dramatic weekend, especially given that Mercedes' long-awaited upgrades to their W14 car are set to finally be incorporated.