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Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg commented that Max Verstappen beating seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was "just crazy." Verstappen beat Hamilton to the 2021 title in a controversy-filled race in Abu Dhabi.
Rosberg was Hamilton's team-mate at Mercedes from 2010 to 2016, with both becoming title rivals towards the end. The German is known for his high-octane last-race finish over the Briton at the same venue that year for his maiden and only title win. Rosberg subsequently retired from the sport and is now a TV commentator and F1 pundit.
Max Verstappen 'off the charts' to beat 'greatest of all time'
Nico Rosberg praised Max Verstappen, claiming the Dutchman has been dominating Lewis Hamilton in wheel-to-wheel battles across the entire season. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, the former world champion stated that Max's consistency has been impressive throughout the 2021 season. While lauding Hamilton as probably the 'greatest of all time', he said:
“The level in qualifying most of the time, the consistency throughout the whole year, the level he took against Lewis, who is probably the greatest of all time, in the Mercedes and in that dominant form, it was just off the chart.”
Praising Verstappen's performance, Rosberg said:
“That’s just crazy. The level also during the most pressured moments, Verstappen almost gets better when the pressure is high. I got like three-tenths slower when the pressure was high, he gets like two-tenths faster, it’s crazy.”
Rosberg's words were not without reason, as seen in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Max Verstappen clinched his first win of 2021 in one of his best races this year. He led over Hamilton by over 22 seconds during the race, dominating it with perfect execution of strategy and racecraft.
Verstappen's best season in F1 culminated with a victory in the last race of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi. This marked the Dutchman's first world championship, as well as the first time a non-Mercedes driver has won a title in the turbo-hybrid era.
Max Verstappen will aim to defend his title in 2022, against Lewis Hamilton, who is expected to return to the sport with a point to prove, and a title to win.
