Davide Valsecchi believes one current winless F1 driver is ‘even better’ than four-time champ Sebastian Vettel

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Sebastian Vettel is widely considered one of the greatest drivers of the modern era of Formula 1.

Red Bull Racing owe their initial success to the performances of Sebastian Vettel, as he went on an almost unprecedented run of winning four straight drivers’ championships.

Only Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Juan Manuel Fangio have matched the German’s impressive feat.

Vettel made his debut for BMW Sauber in 2007 before quickly being snapped up by Red Bull and placed in their Toro Rosso sister team.

He achieved the remarkable accomplishment of winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso before Red Bull had secured their first victory, but it wasn’t long until Christian Horner handed him a well-deserved promotion.

Vettel effectively ended Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren career by winning that race in Monza, and went on to dominate Formula 1 for years before ending his time in the sport with Ferrari and Aston Martin.

However, Formula 2 champion and pundit Davide Valsecchi believes one driver currently on the grid who has yet to win a race is ‘even better’ than Vettel.

Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg is still waiting for his first F1 race win and podium, but Valsecchi believes he was even more talented than the four-time world champion.

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Nico Hulkenberg told he’s an ‘even better’ driver than Formula 1 legend Sebastian Vettel

Valsecchi was speaking on The Red Flags Podcast about his time rising through the ranks of racing and explained: “Vettel was not the quickest man, but I think that at 17 years old, this boy was already a man.

“Already at that age, this man was as prepared as a 25-year-old Formula 1 racing driver.

“If you consider his career was so early in age. Immediately in Formula 1, after two or three years, he fought for the championship, and he won four titles in a row.

“Another one similar to him was Hulkenberg, because now we underestimate a bit the quality of Hulkenberg, because in Formula 1 he never scored any podiums.

“He was better in the head than everyone else, and he won everything.

“Believe me, there’s no man, only Piastri maybe, who won as many lower categories as Hulkenberg.

“Yeah, and believe me, Hulkenberg was even better than Vettel, that’s my personal view.

“Yesterday I told him on the live show, it’s unfair for this sport that one man as good as you has no podium.

“I didn’t tell him, but my thought is that he’s better than some of the drivers who have a victory in Formula 1.”

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Nico Hulkenberg going from strength to strength at Sauber during the 2025 F1 season

Hulkenberg made his debut in Formula 1 in 2010 for Williams, three years after Vettel.

He had already won the Formula 3 Euro Series and GP2 on his way to the grid and found himself on pole position in Brazil during his rookie campaign.

The German couldn’t convert his front row start into a podium, and he’s now taken part in 240 F1 weekends without troubling the rostrum.

Hulkenberg has put in some brilliant performances for Sauber this season and has already scored 20 points this year.

Ralf Schumacher believes Hulkenberg would be a perfect teammate for Verstappen at Red Bull, which would surely offer him the best chance of his career to secure that elusive podium.