Jenson Button claims Max Verstappen has been consistently “annihilating” his Formula One teammates in a way not seen since the days of Michael Schumacher.
The Dutch driver has outperformed his Red Bull colleague Alex Albon in every race this season.
Red Bull have struggled to find competition in-house for the 22-year-old, with three years since being outgunned by a teammate when Daniel Riccardio edged him in 2017.
But even then, Verstappen bested the Australian in qualification 13-7, leaving Button astounded and making the lofty comparison to Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
“You compare him to his team-mates the last two years, he has just annihilated them,” Button said on the In the Fast Lane Podcast.
“I haven’t seen that in motorsport for a very long time, probably back to the Ayrton Senna days, and Michael Schumacher days. I don’t think there’s been a driver that’s annihilated their team-mate like he has in a very long time.”
Button is also excited by the prospect of Verstappen taking on Lewis Hamilton for the championship, but isn’t sure quite yet whether he has what it takes to hang with the six-time world champion.
Button added: “He is doing an exceptional job. I would love to see him go up against Lewis [Hamilton] in a championship fight. Those two, top of their game, it’s what we all want to see. Is it ever going to happen? I don’t know.
“It’s tough for [Max], because now he doesn’t have a competitive team-mate.
“He’s out on his own. He’s probably not able to progress as much because his team-mate isn’t where he is at, in terms of pace.”
