Rosberg: Best driver Verstappen in not the best car made the difference in F1 Italian GP

2016 Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg praised Max Verstappen’s brilliant drive to victory earlier on Sunday at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, calling it a “phenomenal display”. After it was suggested he had the best car over the weekend, the German disagreed.

“His car wasn’t the best car this weekend. I’m pretty sure of that.”

Speaking further on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Rosberg argued that Verstappen’s weekend at Monza demonstrated driving brilliance, but also a deeper technical intuition—specifically regarding set-up decisions that ultimately shaped his path to victory.

Verstappen’s technical knowledge

“What I learned about Max Verstappen is that he’s also now becoming, or has been, I don’t know, so smart that he actually does such fundamental set-up decisions,” Rosberg remarked. “That’s a new facet, which I hadn’t seen so often yet.”

While Red Bull wasn’t the quickest car during the first part of the weekend, especially against the dominant McLarens and the fast Ferraris, Verstappen’s ability to understand simulation data and deduce a suitable choice on a lower downforce setup was, according to Rosberg, a decisive factor.

“The simulation tells you where the optimum rear wing level is, and all the engineers follow that. Max said, ‘No, I want less wing than that.’ And he got his way. Then he puts it on pole with a magical lap—or two magical laps, really.”

A generous enough gap to the McLarens

After his previous win in Imola, Verstappen’s full circle moment landed right back in Italy as he formed a generous 19-second gap between him and the McLaren of Lando Norris, concluding the fastest race in F1 history while setting a record-breaking most rapid time of 1:18.792 during qualifying.

Rosberg quickly pointed out that while the final gap wasn’t massive, partly due to McLaren’s unorthodox strategy of waiting for softs, the Dutch driver’s performance remained dominant.

“McLaren rolled the dice with a really horrible strategy in terms of getting from A to B the fastest. But still, the pace Max showed was just incredible.”

Furthermore, Rosberg recalled observing the Red Bull driver trackside earlier this season in Barcelona, where his control over the car’s rear was “absolutely fierce.”

Simply one of the greats

Ultimately, the former world champion placed Verstappen among the all-time greats in his personal top five alongside Hamilton, Senna, Fangio, and Schumacher, awarding his uncanny balance of speed, control, and now, engineering insight.

“He has that tiny edge on everybody else. It’s just that extra sensitivity, that extra speed of reacting, to balance the car magically on that knife-edge. Just incredible.”

Verstappen’s Monza triumph showed the Dutchman’s genius on and off track, serving as a reminder that even when the car isn’t supreme, the driver can be.