Nico Rosberg Applauds Max Verstappen ‘Magic’ over Dominant Italian GP win

Max Verstappen was the driver to witness at the Italian GP as he put forth one of the greatest performances in the history of Formula 1. Verstappen won the Italian race with a record-breaking time and proved his racing mettle. As such, the Dutchman has continued to receive praise and applause from all around the paddock. Now, 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg applauded the reigning champion’s performance at the Temple of Speed.

At the beginning of the Italian GP race weekend, Max Verstappen wasn’t much dominant in the practice sessions. Ferrari and McLaren topped the sessions while Verstappen prepared for the race out of the headlines. However, come qualifying, the Dutch driver shattered the lap time record at the Monza circuit and also set the world’s fastest lap in the history of Formula 1 to achieve the pole position.

In the main race, Max Verstappen suffered from a Turn 1 incident with Lando Norris and lost the lead momentarily. However, since then, Verstappen regained the lead immediately and never looked back or lost the lead. Toto Wolff even claimed that the Dutchman made the rivals look silly after showcasing a masterclass of a performance at Monza.

Nico Rosberg recalled that people did not even talk about Max Verstappen throughout the whole weekend, as they all focused on the local heroes at Ferrari. McLaren also seemed to be the talking point as they were believed to win the race. Rosberg recalled that no one mentioned Verstappen, and suddenly, the Dutchman put forth a magical performance and performed well when it mattered the most.

We never even spoke of Verstappen through the whole weekend. We’re speaking about McLaren, Ferrari. No one mentioned Verstappen, and suddenly, bam! When it mattered, it was Verstappen magic.

Nico Rosberg told Sky Sports F1