Max ‘understands’ Hamilton’s frustrations

Editor

Max Verstappen believes his overtaking moves at Brazil should not be compared to Lewis Hamilton's struggles to pass Nico Rosberg.

The Toro Rosso rookie pulled off two excellent passes at the Senna Esses on Sergio Perez and Felipe Nasr at Interlagos on Sunday and his move on Force India's Perez in particular has received a lot of rave reviews.

By contrast, Hamilton found himself stuck behind his Mercedes team-mate Rosberg for several laps and was then forced to drop off after his tyres started to wear off.

There have been a few tongue in cheek suggestions that Hamilton should take overtaking lessons from Verstappen, but the Dutch youngster says it's a lot more difficult when you are following the same car.

"With a Mercedes, maybe they have problems when they are very close to each other," he is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. "Plus, their speed is higher, and they both had good pace, so maybe it is more difficult for them.

"I know when the Toro Rossos are behind each other it is difficult to get past, so if you have the same type of car it is very hard."

Hamilton called on his team to change his strategy midway through the race in an attempt to beat Rosberg on the undercut, but the team said no and Verstappen admits drivers with the same machinery will always find it more difficult to overtake.

"We have very good cornering speed, so if we are behind a Lotus, Sauber or Force India we catch up in the fast corners, even when we are behind," he said. "So that is different for sure.

"For them [Mercedes], it is equal everywhere – on the corners and the straights. When your car is exactly the same as your team-mate and you are behind, it is very tough.

"And when you are behind, you lose a lot in the fast corners. So I can understand Lewis saying that."