F1 pundit compares being Max Verstappen's teammate to "playing against Rafael Nadal at his peak on clay"

F1 pundit and former racer Karun Chandhok has compared being Max Verstappen's teammate to playing against Rafael Nadal at his peak on clay. The comparison was drawn after Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez once again had a disappointing race that helped the Dutchman driver seal his third world title in Qatar.

Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, has a record 14 titles at Roland Garros - the claycourt major. He has won 112 of his 115 matches at the major.

While discussing Max Verstappen's world championship, Karun had a word for his teammate as well. Talking about how tough it is to be on the same team as Verstappen, Karun drew comparisons with how it might be when playing against Rafael Nadal on clay when you know everything is going to be unrelenting.

Talking about the dismay of putting your best foot forward and finding out you're still half a second behind Max Verstappen when you come back to the pits, Karun said on Sky Sports:

"Imperious. That is what they have been as a collective on [Verstappen's] side of the garage. It's not been plain-sailing for Perez. If you're playing against Rafael Nadal at his peak on clay, whatever you do with the ball, it's just going to come back to you. That's what it's like being team-mates with Verstappen."

Chandhok added:

"As a driver psychologically, you come in the pits, you look at the data, you have given it your all and you go 'there's another half a second. Where is that half a second?' And you just keep getting that week in, week out."

"So as much as it is a strong car, I think he's doing fantastic things in it": F1 pundit on Max Verstappen's performances this season

Fellow Sky F1 pundit Naomi Schiff chipped in as well on what Max Verstappen has been able to achieve in the dominant RB19. She felt that his performances raise the question of whether any other driver could have been able to do the job that the Red Bull driver has done. She said:

"You have to say if you look at Checo's [Perez's] season so far and the gap between him and Max, yes it's a competitive car, but the question is how much is Max able to extract out of that car that maybe any other driver wouldn't have been able to do? So as much as it is a strong car, I think he's doing fantastic things in it."

It is surely an interesting debate on whether drivers like Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, or Fernando Alonso would have been able to achieve what Max Verstappen has in the RB19.