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Van der Garde sees strong Verstappen: 'Fights were fun'

Van der Garde sees strong Verstappen: 'Fights were fun'

03-05-2021 19:46 Last update: 04-05-2021 08:31
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GPblog.com

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen took the first two podiums on Sunday for the third time in a row. While Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez came close to the pair, they had to settle for third and fourth. It gave Mercedes and Red Bull once again the most points of the weekend.

Giedo van der Garde saw a boring race in Portugal, he tells in conversation with Motorsport. "The start was of course quite nice with that start and then that safety car," the former Formula 1 driver states. "I must say Bottas did that very well and smart, Hamilton was actually sleeping a bit with that safety car. After that, it was fun with the fights between Max and Hamilton of course."

Van der Garde felt Hamilton and Verstappen were once again the two best drivers on the circuit. "With all due respect to Bottas who had a good race and qualifying, Max and Lewis are the two best drivers in Formula 1 at the moment. Maybe for a Leclerc or a Norris, it's a bit hard to judge because they might not have the car to show what they can do, but all in all Max and Lewis are just on fire at the moment."

Hamilton's lead over Verstappen

With Hamilton scoring the most points of the weekend, the Englishman has increased his lead over pursuer Verstappen to eight points. The Dutchman's tally to date is 61 points, down from Hamilton's 69.