Rosberg: Sainz just as good as Verstappen

Championship leader Nico Rosberg believes Carlos Sainz is on par with the Spaniard’s former teammate Max Verstappen.

The German told the Spanish press: “He is the Spanish hope, is very good, very strong, but the situation is difficult because the good car has been given to Verstappen.”

When Daniil Kvyat was demoted from the Red Bull team after the 2016 Russian Grand Prix, Verstappen received the promotion after out-scoring Sainz 49-18 in their first season as teammates.

However, the 22-year-old suffered a lot of bad luck in his debut season and Rosberg believes they are much closer than the point deficit suggests:

“Carlos is also very strong and against Verstappen did very well. His behaviour was very similar, they are as good as one another and I am convinced that he will be one of the important ones in the future.”

With just four races to go, Carlos Sainz sits 12th in the Drivers’ Championship with 30 points but looks unlikely to add to that total with Toro Rosso’s 2015 power unit.