Rosberg: In equal cars, Verstappen beats Hamilton

Nico Rosberg reckons that if Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had the exact same car, the Dutchman would be leading the 2019 championship race instead of the five-time world champion.

Verstappen has been in blistering form this season and claimed his second win of the campaign at the German Grand Prix, while Hamilton only managed to earn points after Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo were given penalties.

It is Rosberg’s opinion that Hamilton is only ahead of Verstappen in the title rankings because his car is superior.

"Verstappen had a great racing pace, did everything well and deserved this victory," he said on his YouTube channel.

"It is already his second win of the season and he is only 22 points from Bottas in a Mercedes.

"He is well ahead of the Ferraris, who generally have a better car than Verstappen. He is incredible this year, he is doing very well this season and is currently only 61 points behind Lewis. That is quite impressive halfway through the season.

"If they were to drive the same car, I think Verstappen would be in front of Hamilton in the championship right now. Although this weekend's lower score [of Hamilton] also has to do with that.

"Verstappen is simply the best at the moment driver in Formula 1. It is very impressive what he shows, the Netherlands is going crazy, they are still celebrating in the stands. It is beautiful to see and that is what we simply want."

After the opening 11 races of the 2019 calendar, Hamilton leads the championship with Valtteri Bottas in second and Verstappen in third.

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