Max Verstappen – ” I am Faster Than Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton”

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is often compared to the likes of Lewis Hamilton and the newest F1 star, Charles Leclerc. When he was asked about the comparison between the three of them, he actually made some bold statements.

He claimed that if they are in the same car, he would be “two tenths faster” than them. The Dutchman currently races for Red Bull, while the other two race for Mercedes and Ferrari.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, he said, “If I find myself in the same car as Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc, I feel that I would be two tenths faster,”.

However it was worth noting that his comments was a far cry from those of his father, Jos Verstappen. The former F1 driver slammed Red Bull and stated that their current level of performance was “not good enough”.

The 22-year old added: “I think it’s well known that I have performed better than the level of my car this year. People often think that Red Bull is on par with the others, but we are a little more behind than it seems.

“Before Singapore, I thought we could compete for the title next year. Now, I don’t think so.”

Earlier this year, there were rumours saying that Max Verstappen wanted to activate an exit clause in his current contract. This was a performance clause and it would allow him to switch to Ferrari or Mercedes for the 2020 season.

A week earlier, he told The Telegraph: “Lewis (Hamilton) is an amazing driver, but he has also had the best car. Over the years, Lewis hasn’t had the strongest teammates. If you have the right car you can beat everyone.”

Now, the Dutch driver will be looking forward to the Japanese Grand Prix in a week’s time. The race weekend at Suzuka will be a second home race for Red Bull and Toro Rosso as it is the home race for Honda.