Max Verstappen Nico Rosberg

Arnab Bose

Former Mercedes Champion Praises Max Verstappen, Calls His Driving Style “Art”

Red Bull ace Max Verstappen has been sensational for the last two years as he is the current double-time champion. But everything started from the epic 2021 season that saw the game turned upside down. It was all Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton for seven years straight from 2014. But then, in 2021, Max Verstappen broke the streak of Lewis Hamilton.

The seven-time champion was going to win back to back five championships and eight overall. Hamilton and his partner Valtteri Bottas helped the Mercedes team win back-to-back eight constructor’s titles. However, the epic controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw a shift of power from Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen. Since then, the Dutchman has been absolutely unstoppable. But the former Mercedes champion racer, Nico Rosberg, warned Verstappen not to get complacent. Why is that? Keep reading to find out!

   

Rosberg Warns Verstappen About Complacency

Max Verstappen Nico Rosberg
Max Verstappen Nico Rosberg Source: Sky Sports

Recently, in an interview with Sky Sports podcast, the 2016 champion Nico Rosberg mentioned that Max Verstappen must not get complacent. It is because when a driver is going through a purple patch, there is an element of risk that the racer may lose motivation. That can cause the downfall of individual performance and then adversely affect the team. The German driver was able to beat his teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2016 to win the title. That’s why from a lot of experience, Rosberg warns Max Verstappen. However, Verstappen is in such a good flow that he does not need to worry about anything.

The 38-year-old former F1 racer called Max’s state-of-mind art. Moreover, Rosberg believes that Max Verstappen has a phenomenal mindset. He praised Max for his consistent focus on winning. Moreover, the Dutchman is always in the zone to compete and win. Hence, Nico Rosberg acknowledged that he just needs to be a little careful about complacency but just keep doing what he is doing. Verstappen is also raising hopes that Red Bull can win all the races this season. What an incredible team achievement that would be! No other team in F1 history has been able to do that.

Max Verstappen Is On His Way To Break Many Records In F1

Max Verstappen Red Bull
Max Verstappen Red Bull Source: Sky Sports

Nobody came close to Max last year, in the end, to challenge him for the title. The Dutchman won 15 races. In the current season, Verstappen has already won nine out of 11 races. He went past Ayrton Senna’s win tally. Later, he helped Red Bull get to their 100 Grand Prix victories. Moreover, Max Verstappen is proving time and again that with his skills and the RB19 car, he can win on any race track. It does not seem like any other driver can touch him.

Other drivers are trying to be the second best at present because Verstappen is so far ahead. Moreover, he is on a seven-match winning streak at the moment. He has won 44 races so far in his career, and the last victory came last Sunday. The Dutchman hopes to win his 45th race next weekend, wasting no time because the number 44 is closely associated with his rival Lewis Hamilton. However, it should not be difficult for him at all. In Hungary, he won with a record gap of 35 seconds last weekend.