Verstappen plays down Hamilton’s five titles

Max Verstappen has played down Lewis Hamilton’s achievements.

The silly season is really firing in Hungary, with speculation raging that the duo could be teammates in the not-too-distant future.

Recently, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said he thinks Verstappen is now a better driver than Hamilton.

"It’s always nice when your boss says things like that about you," Verstappen said. "But compliments mean as little to me than bad reviews do."

When asked in Hungary about the prospect of Hamilton and Verstappen being teammates, Horner answered: "In terms of having those two in one team, I haven’t heard from Lewis that he wants to join."

But if they do team up, it is clear that 21-year-old Verstappen is not intimidated by Hamilton’s achievements.

"There are a lot of good drivers around the paddock who are capable of winning five titles," said the Dutchman.

When asked who he thinks is better than Hamilton, Verstappen said: "Hamilton is undoubtedly one of the best who has ever done it. But really, to say that he’s the best of his generation ? I don’t know. Maybe it’s Fernando Alonso. He could have won seven, eight world titles, if he had been at the right team."