Finally, at the Hungarian GP, Sergio Perez ended his undesirable streak of 5 consecutive Q3 misses. He got into Q3, but his single-lap pace was nowhere near his teammate, Max Verstappen’s flying laps. The reigning champion was quick enough for P2. But Perez was 4 hundredths off of him. He did show a brilliant turnaround in the race, but a former F1 driver believes that this year is Perez’s last with Red Bull.
Verstappen began the race in P2 but easily secured P1 at Turn 1, overtaking Lewis Hamilton. And Perez, who started P9, climbed the grid to eventually finish P3, taking the bottom spot on the podium. But there was a big difference in their performances. Verstappen was at so much ease with the RB19 that he finished 33 seconds ahead of Lando Norris, in P2. And Ralf Schumacher believes that such a performance by Verstappen is completely exposing Perez’s consistent faltering.
Schumacher said, as quoted by Formulapassion, “It’s not fair to put pressure on him, but in the future when other teams get closer, Red Bull cannot afford to have one driver so slower than the other. The team is logically trying to make Perez believe that his place is not in danger, but I don’t think he will drive Red Bull again next year.“
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And such has been the Dutchman’s dominance that along with Schumacher, a former World Champion, too has hailed him, calling him one of the top 5 drivers of all time.
Nico Rosberg Reckons “Legendary” Max Verstappen Belongs In the All-Time Hall of Fame
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By taking victory in Budapest, Verstappen helped Red Bull break the all-time record for the maximum number of wins in a row (12). The record was initially held by Ayrton Senna and McLaren (11) in 1988. On the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Rosberg was asked about his views on RB surpassing that milestone.
Rosberg said, “They’ve now got 12, so that’s an incredible milestone. And Verstappen himself is driving in such a legendary way. I mean, he is driving like one of the best five or six of all time, in line with a (Ayrton) Senna, (Michael) Schumacher, (Lewis) Hamilton, and (Juan Manuel) Fangio, and then you start to struggle [to think of more names] already.”
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Watch This Story: Markos Frightening Reality Slap: Hamilton Downplays Verstappens Dominance!
The next race at Spa-Francorchamps is Max Verstappen‘s favorite. Last year, he started P14 and went on to win the race at the Belgian GP. His pace was so good that he finished 17 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez. With each passing year, he is getting better. So, looking at that, it should be yet another comprehensive victory for the 2-time World Champion.