Former F1 driver and now Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok believes Max Verstappen has the slightest of edges over Lewis Hamilton this season, despite trailing the seven-time world champion by eight points in the world standings.
Despite admitting it was “really hard to choose” between the pair, Chandhok believes without Verstappen’s tyre blowout in Azerbaijan, the Dutchman would still hold a sizeable lead.
“It was really hard to choose between Lewis and Max for who to put on top and, to be honest, there’s a strong argument to be made for both,” Chandhok wrote for skysports.com.
“Neither driver has been perfect, though. Max made an error in Bahrain by passing Lewis on the outside of the track, and then went wide in Portimao which cost him pole, while I still believe he could have given Lewis a bit more room in that crash at Silverstone.
“But otherwise, he’s been superb this season and has maximised the car he has got on every opportunity. Without the tyre blowout in Baku and even assuming he got second in Silverstone, he would be leading the championship by 37 points.
JUST IN:
Christian Horner frustrated after ‘brutal’ Mercedes crashesÂ