Facing little competition from rivals, Max Verstappen secured the championship title with 4 races to spare. However, the battle for 2nd in the standings went right down to the wire. Charles Leclerc slugged it out until the final lap of the season finale in Abu Dhabi. However, Mercedes’ George Russell made it to the 2nd in Nico Rosberg’s top-5 drivers of the year list.

Beating Lewis Hamilton in the same car over the course of a full season is no mean feat. Nico Rosberg has done that in 2016 and knows how he had to fight through his teeth to do it. George did that as well, but what was more impressive was the fact that he did it in his first season with the Brackley-based team.

Lauding his effort, Rosberg in his YouTube video said, “So George 2nd, I think you got to put him there. Also, if you look at where George is compared to Leclerc and [Sergio] Perez on the points with a Mercedes, that was like nowhere in terms of car speed, so close to them for P2 in the championship. So I think that’s what to do.”

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Russell finished 4th with just 30 points behind Perez (3rd) and 33 points behind Leclerc (2nd) in the drivers’ standings. He also finished 35 points ahead of Hamilton in 6th, bagging a win at Interlagos along the way. Speaking post-race, Russell told what a nerve-wracking experience it was for him to fight Lewis in the final few laps.

Max Verstappen trumped George Russell to make it to number 1 on Nico Rosberg’s list

Max Verstappen and Red Bull did not start the season on the best of notes. The Austrian team suffered 3 DNFs from the first 3 races. However, once they tackled the reliability and weight-related issues, Verstappen made the most of it. On a couple of occasions, he even squeezed out a win despite starting as far back as P10 and P14.

Unsurprisingly putting the Dutchman on number 1 on his list, Nico said, “One, I would definitely go for Max Verstappen. Just incredible the level he’s in at now. He’s driving so fast, so consistent, never makes any mistakes, so confident, and incredible. Also, you know he didn’t have the fastest car in qualifying for most of the year. Leclerc had 9 poles at least and yet Verstappen always came through, never made any crashes, and won 15 races in the year out of 22. That’s just unbelievable.”

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Do you agree with the former world champion’s analyses of George making it to number 2 in the season’s best drivers’ list? Would you have put someone else? Let us know your list in the comments.