Dutch racing driver Michael Bleekemolen seemed strongly convinced that Max Verstappen is the quickest driver on the grid currently.
Max Verstappen's talent cannot be doubted after securing three consecutive Drivers' Championships with Red Bull and winning 22 out of 26 last Grand Prix races.
The Dutchman recently gained recognition from the four-time World Champion Alain Prost, who said it was a shame that the 26-year-old's success gets ascribed only to his car.
It is a fact that Red Bull has the fastest car, but Michael Bleekemolen agrees with Prost when it comes to saying that it has little to do with the triple World Champion's success. He told RacingNews365:
"Max is simply the best and you can always see that very well, that is after the start. Then within a few laps he is already one or two seconds."
"And that has nothing to do with the car being better, because Perez drives behind him and cannot do that."
When we look at the gap by which Verstappen outperformed his teammate in the last three seasons, some might assume it's because Perez would be a below-average driver. However, Bleekemolen stated he believes the Mexican to be equally as fast as any of the remaining drivers.
"I think that he [Perez] is like the rest of the drivers from the top teams. He is at the level of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz."
"And there is only one who stands out among all those people. You always see it in all classes, there is always someone who does better."
The 74-year-old Dutchman went as far as to say he believed Verstappen might win even if he was a Ferrari driver at the moment. He added:
"And it often has nothing to do with the difference in the car, it's about the fact that he can handle everything a little more adeptly. I don't see anyone beating Max."
"He just wins because he is better. That is clear. I think if you put him in a Ferrari, he will win races this year. Maybe that [the title] too, because he's just better."