Mathias Lauda, son of the iconic late Niki Lauda, may have riled up a few Lewis Hamilton fans in snubbing the mercurial Silver Arrows driver in the way of lavish praise aimed at Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Verstappen is currently enjoying the most dominant season since making his debut in the sport.
Not only has he comprehensively outshone everyone else on the track this year, but he has already tied the record for most race wins in a season (14) with two Grand Prix still to come.
In light of this, Mathias Lauda has claimed that reigning world champion Verstappen is the sort of racer that “shows up every 100 years”.
Verstappen has failed to finish among the top two on only nine occasions in the last 25 races which is quite extraordinary.
“This year, Mercedes is a step behind Red Bull and Ferrari – and that’s why the championship is not as exciting as last year, but I am so impressed with Max Verstappen,” Lauda said.
“He’s just a talent that will show up every 100 years, he’s just so good and I don’t see any weak point on him.
“Normally every racing driver has a weak point, but with Max, I don’t see any.
“He is so cool, relaxed and can handle the pressure better than anybody else.”
Mathias in awe of Verstappen
Mathias explained the factors that make Verstappen so appealing as a driver to him.
“He’s always calm and in the beginning of his career, sometimes he did make mistakes or was too aggressive, but this year, he made a massive change.
“Last year he was sometimes over aggressive, but he is going to be very hard to beat in the future, and it’s going to be a nightmare for all the other drivers.
“In the same car, he is going to be very hard to beat, but on the other hand, you can never underestimate Lewis [Hamilton] when the car is good again.”
Lauda made his comments at the movie premiere of Hunt vs Lauda: The Next Generation in London.
The film depicts the battles of sportscar ace Mathias against the son of his father’s greatest rival, Freddie Hunt.
The methods that the two drivers use have a distinct similarity with that of their fathers and in principle, seems like a movie that will excite many racing fans.