Nico Rosberg believes Carlos Sainz is in the top four drivers this season

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17:15, 18 Nov 2019

Carlos Sainz achieved his first-ever podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix, benefitting from Lewis Hamilton's penalty. The result has led to some very high praise from former World Champion, Nico Rosberg.

In a chaotic conclusion to the race at Interlagos, Lewis Hamilton wiped out Alex Albon and subsequently received a penalty dropping to seventh. This allowed Sainz to finish the race in P3 and despite not standing on the podium in the initial celebrations he enjoyed a moment with his team after.

Sainz has had a breakout season, currently sitting sixth in the Drivers' Championship. Nico Rosberg believes the Spaniard has been amongst the best drivers this season, putting him alongside the likes of Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

"Sainz is closing off an unbelievable season," Rosberg said on his YouTube channel.

"I’ve always said he’s in the top four best drivers this year together with Leclerc. So it’s Leclerc, Sainz, Verstappen and Hamilton.

"At the moment I’d probably put Hamilton, Verstappen, maybe even on a par, especially after this race, actually no you’d put Hamilton slightly ahead. Then Sainz is now third just ahead of Leclerc.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	292
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	211
3	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	191
4	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	186
5	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	167
6	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	145
7	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	120
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	71
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	59
10	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	41
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	31
12	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	27
13	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
14	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	10
15	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	7
16	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
18	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
19	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	3
20	Yuki Tsunoda Yuki Tsunoda	Racing BullsRCB	1
21	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
23	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0

Nico Rosberg believes Carlos Sainz is in the top four drivers this season

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