Mercedes boss: 'Verstappen races F1 like driving for a walk'

"Max has no reason to race hard. He just seems to be driving for a walk. It's commendable," Wolf said after the Belgian Grand Prix on July 30.

On the Spa-Francorchamps track on Sunday, July 30, Verstappen started Friday. But Red Bull's main driver took turns to take the lead from round 17 after surpassing teammate Sergio Perez. Verstappen then continuously widened the gap to finish first with a difference of 22,305 seconds faster than Perez. On the track, at one point, the defending champion even joked with engineer Gianpiero Lambiase over the radio that he wanted to put the car through the pit to practice more coordination exercises.

With the eighth victory in a row and the 10th in 12 stages this season, Verstappen is creating a distance of 125 points over teammate Perez on the individual rankings. It was only a matter of time before the Dutch driver won F1 for the third year in a row.

"There is nothing to criticize Max at all. But it feels uncomfortable to see his superiority on the track," added Wolff.

Veteran Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton also agrees with his boss, commenting: "Max races like he's driving, smoking and eating pancakes."

However, Hamilton also thinks that junior rivals are benefiting too much from the superior power of the RB19 with Honda engine. "Of course, I want to have the speed of Red Bull's car. I want to race in a car like theirs. If I were in Perez's car, Max wouldn't be able to make the big difference now," the driver said. seven times F1 champion added.

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko shares Hamilton's views. He thinks that of the current drivers, only Hamilton and Fernando Alonso can do better than Verstappen.

"Coming second behind Max is like a win with other drivers, because no one can be at his level right now. Maybe Alonso and Hamilton are closest, but they can't beat Max at the moment either. ", said Marko.

The Red Bull adviser also points to some outstanding qualities in Verstappen. He said: "He holds the tires very well and still maintains the speed. Max can also read the course of the race and handle the situation in an unbelievable way. has been and is doing".

After the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend, F1 will enter a four-week mid-season break, then return with the Dutch Grand Prix - Verstappen's home race - on August 27.