Former teammates praise ‘special talent’ Verstappen

Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz, both former teammates of Verstappen, praise his talent.

Verstappen is on an incredible streak at the moment and is proving that the hype around him is real. Having broken Sebastian Vettel’s nine-wins-in-a-row record at this year’s Italian Grand Prix, Verstappen is chasing down his third title.

En route to this impressive victory, Verstappen’s ex-teammates had some kind words to say about the Dutch superstar.

As reported by Formula1.com, both Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz have called the two-time world champion a “special talent”.

Sainz, who was teammates with Verstappen at Torro Rosso in 2015, told reporters that Verstappen has always had “hype” around him and it was something that never came as a shock to the Spaniard.

“I think if there was something that Max never lacked, it was hype around him”.

“When he was in F3, he had already a lot of following. I think his first year in F1, he came in and stormed F1 and had a lot of following behind him.”

“Obviously he’s a special talent”

“It doesn’t surprise me at all, because I’ve always, since I debuted with him in 2015… I’ve always seen that hype, and I’ve always understood it, because obviously he’s a special talent and someone that is performing really, really well since the beginning.”

Gasly’s thoughts

Gasly, who was teammates with Verstappen at Red Bull in 2019, although he had competed against him for years prior, shared his thoughts on Verstappen’s hype in the early days.

“It was clear already from a very young age, when we raced in karting, the hype around him was already very different to any other drivers.”

“The way that he came to F1 and performed and switched to Red Bull just amplified everything that followed, but I would say it’s no surprise that he’s where he is today”.

Gasly also spoke about Verstappen basically racing for his nation.

“He’s got the following, especially in the Netherlands. From an outside point of view, he seems to be pretty much the icon of the country.”

As a Frenchman driving for a French-owned team, one that is part of the nation’s state-owned automotive group, Pierre Gasly knows a thing or two about home support so his words on Verstappen seem all the more poignant.

Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool