Nico Hulkenberg opens up about “ultimate” Max Verstappen challenge in the Red Bull F1 seat

Haas F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg recently remarked that Max Verstappen was the 'ultimate' test in the sport, calling him a 'killer'.

Since entering the sport, Max Verstappen has only been beaten twice in a season — by Daniel Ricciardo in 2016 and 2017. At the time, the Belgian-Dutch driver was just starting out his career and he has since built a reputation of a teammate killer, who does not give an inch to anyone else on the track.

Speaking with AD, Hulkenberg spoke about the challenge of going up against Verstappen. The 35-year-old German praised the 25-year-old for the kind of human being he is.

"How I see Max? As an absolute killer," Hulkenberg said. "He's just so unbelievably good. So much natural talent, but he's also a really nice and charming human being. A no-nonsense guy. He just tells you how it is, is honest with you And I can appreciate that."

He also spoke about becoming teammates with Verstappen, saying:

"There have been some talks with Helmut, but I never had the idea that it really got serious. That would have been nice, with such a top team. And not, because being a teammate of Max, hey... That really is the ultimate challenge for drivers. Probably the most difficult seat on the grid,"

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Max Verstappen on the unpredictability of his rivals in 2023

The reigning double world champion stated that it was becoming difficult for him to predict who will finish behind him on the podium in the past couple of races.

Speaking in his post-race press conference in Silverstone, Max Verstappen said:

"It’s very confusing to me because every single race weekend, it's someone else. I think is because it's so close behind that if you get your car in a little bit of a better window, it works on one particular track. So for me, I don't know what's going to happen in Hungary to be honest, who is going to be quick or the second quickest."

"The stable factor so far is that every single weekend, it seems like we are on top, which of course is the most important from our side. But again, Hungary completely different track, we will put some upgrades on the car there and hopefully they will work well," he added.

It will be interesting to see if Max Verstappen will have a consistent challenger this season, who will push him every weekend in the races.