"He was just in a league of his own" - Former F1 champion says Max Verstappen brought Red Bull on a level playing field with Ferrari

Max Verstappen was in a league of his own during the 2022 F1 Imola GP weekend, according to former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg.

Rosberg feels the Dutchman's dominant display in Italy was the key to bringing Red Bull on a level playing field with current championship leaders Ferrari.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Rosberg lauded Verstappen after the latter bagged a combined 34 points over the weekend. He said:

“It looks like Red Bull have really made progress with their reliability and sorted the issues. And then, really, it’s again about Max Verstappen. The whole weekend, [he was] just nailing it whenever it counted. He was just in a league of his own; an unbelievable job by him, and really putting the marker down and saying: ‘Hey, I’m not out of this championship yet. I’m back right in there.’”

Red Bull's cause was also helped in no small part by Sergio Perez. The Mexican ended the Sprint in P3 before helping the team from Milton Keynes secure their first one-two finish in F1 since 2016.

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"We’ve fought some nice duels so far" - Max Verstappen on his rivalry with Charles Leclerc

Max Verstappen has admitted that his rivalry with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc feels natural to him. The pair have been racing each other since their time in karting and also have a prior on-track history in that regard.

Speaking about the nature of their battles in the present day environments of the F1 world during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Dutchman said:

“Every driver is different, in the way they attack or defend. That’s why you always have to go into the fight in a unique way. It feels natural to compete against drivers that I have competed against in the past in karts and have now come to F1. In particular Charles [Leclerc]; it’s nice to see that we are two young guys competing for victories – we’ve fought some nice duels so far. I’m [also] happy that my friend [Carlos] Sainz is now driving a competitive Ferrari, after we made our debut together in 2015.”

Verstappen currently trails Leclerc in the World Drivers' Championship standings, despite his stellar showing at the Imola GP. The defending world champion sits in P2 with 59 points while Leclerc has 86 to his name.