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Rosberg praises Verstappen: He's only getting started

2016 F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg has offered his take on Max Verstappen's record-breaking season.

Nico Rosberg has praised Max Verstappen after he extended his own win record in a season following his victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 2016 World Champion believes that the Dutchman has already established himself as one of the "best all time" following his impressive victory tally throughout the year, with Verstappen having claimed a record-breaking 15 wins in 2022. "He is an incredible driver," Rosberg told Sky Sports F1's Any Driven Monday . "A double World Champion with all of the race wins that he has, more than [Fernando] Alonso. "Verstappen is already one of the best of all time and I think, he's only getting started. "He's going to confirm that in the next decade, certainly. His level of driving is phenomenal and it's great to witness that."

Red Bull not the quickest car initially

At the beginning of the 2022 season, Charles Leclerc opened up a 46-point lead over Verstappen in the standigs after the Red Bull driver retired from two of the first three races. Rosberg thinks that Verstappen produced "one of the greatest driving seasons ever seen" in F1, after overcoming the initial performance deficit to Ferrari. "We need to remember also, it's not like from the get-go this year his car was miles quicker than everyone else's," Rosberg said. "The Ferrari was the quickest car in the beginning of the season and still, he got this incredible 15 wins and really destroyed the opposition in that way. "If you look at the points, he scored 146 more than anybody else, it's unreal. It's one of the greatest driving seasons we've ever seen certainly."

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