Berger on Senna and Verstappen comparison: "Senna is still special to me"

In an extensive interview with Sport1 Berger also tells that it was a miracle that Verstappen didn't win in Baku last weekend. "Of course Max would have won easily in Baku and increased his lead. But in the end, it was damage limitation for him and he also knows that he has a very fast car, especially in slow corners. He has everything he needs this year and therefore has a real chance to win the World Cup." He also underlines once again that Max is only 23 years old.

"Despite his youth, he already has a lot of experience. In the beginning, he was extremely careful, because he knew he could overtake well with his car in Baku. He knows exactly what to do. In Monaco, for example, the start can determine the race. That's why he was much more aggressive there."

Comparing Verstappen to Senna?

This comparison comes up during the interview with Berger, who was of course Senna's teammate at Ferrari, on the Sport1 site. "It's difficult to compare with statistics. It's better to do it with the instinct of a driver. Senna is still special to me. Just because of his charisma. But Lewis Hamilton also does a great job, that should not be forgotten. In terms of his successes, you could put Hamilton on a par with Ayrton."

"As far as Max is concerned, most of today's Honda engineers weren't around during Senna's time," the Austrian continued. "But if Tanabe-San, who is still in a high position at Honda, has drawn the comparison with Ayrton, it should be taken seriously. Simply because Tanabe-San was my race engineer at the time and therefore knew exactly Ayrton's telemetry data."

For now, this comparison still seems a little too enthusiastic, but at the end of the road, Verstappen himself will at least hope to be compared to legends more often. After all, then the Dutchman is doing something right after all.