Verstappen favourite for world title: 'Hamilton was asleep'

Jacques Villeneuve states that Max Verstappen is the big favourite for the world title. According to the Canadian, Lewis Hamilton makes too many mistakes, and the same goes for Mercedes.

Because Hamilton and Verstappen both failed to grab points at the Italian Grand Prix, Verstappen is still five points ahead in the championship. The Dutchman, therefore, seems to be the favourite for the title, even though the next Grand Prix is in Russia.

''Verstappen is superior. He doesn't make any real mistakes. He always goes on the attack, and that shows weaknesses with Lewis. And Mercedes makes mistakes too, more than Red Bull. After Rosberg, Lewis has had an easy life. Maybe he fell asleep a bit, but this year he has suddenly woken up. It remains a phenomenon though,'' says the 1997 world champion at Corriere.it.

That the two are now in contact for the second time, Villeneuve does not immediately see as a reason to say they should slow down. ''No, because it is a fight and they are the gladiators. They are not too aggressive, they just want to finish ahead of the other. We don't see really bad things happening yet.''

According to Villeneuve, the comparison with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost is therefore not yet valid. ''That rivalry really went beyond all limits. There was real hatred and the will to play dirty. There is no such thing between Lewis and Max. I hope to see more duels between them, without them ending up in the wall. That's going to happen one day though,'' the Canadian concludes.