Chandhok on Max: "Would be 37 points ahead in the championship now"

Now that the summer break has come and gone we can say that we can look back on a first half of the season that was anything but boring. A year before the new rules were introduced there was something going on in almost every race and it was often very exciting. The summer break is also a perfect time for F1-intimidates to compile their lists of best drivers.

Max Verstappen

In this case, Karun Chandhok shares with us who have impressed him the most in the first half of the season. Max Verstappen heads his list in any case. On Skysports.com he says: "It was really hard to choose between Lewis and Max. To be honest, they both have a claim to first place. In the end, Lewis' lesser weekend in Monaco and the mistake on the restart in Baku were enough for me to put him behind Max."

The Indian continued, "Neither driver has been perfect though. Max made a mistake in Bahrain passing Lewis on the outside of the track, then went wide in Portimao which cost him pole, while I still think he could have given Lewis a bit more space in that crash at Silverstone." His list is completed, incidentally, by Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Psychological bonus

"But otherwise Max has been superb this season and has got the most out of the car at every opportunity. Without the blowout in Baku and even if he had finished second at Silverstone, he would now be 37 points ahead in the championship," says Chandhok. Yet he still puts his money on Hamilton in the championship: "Leading the world championship after a weekend where he dominated qualifying is a big psychological bonus."