It's no secret how highly Max Verstappen is rated within his own team, with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing advisor Dr Helmut Marko picking out just three drivers on the current grid that are well-matched to the Dutchman.
Verstappen had his most successful season in F1 to date last season, winning three races and grabbing two pole positions as he finished the season in third place in the championship.
Speaking to German news outlet Motorsport-Magazin, Marko thinks there are just three drivers who he considers to be on the 22-year-old's level.
"First of all Lewis Hamilton," the 76-year-old explained. "That's obvious, given his consistency and his speed. In terms of personality and appearance, he's like a polar opposite of Hamilton. Leclerc is next, he's shown some incredible results already."
As much as Hamilton and Verstappen differ off the track, Marko thinks the difference between the duo on-track will mainly be a product of the cars they're in. He knows what he and his team have to do to give Verstappen the opportunity to fight Mercedes.
"Like Mercedes, we need a car that might not be the quickest everywhere but that can compete everywhere."
After Hamilton and Leclerc, Marko mentions one more driver he thinks is on Verstappen's level, and that is his former pupil Sebastian Vettel.
"I'm certainly not writing off Vettel yet. When he gets back up, he gets a car that suits him and the support from the team, he'll be right back at the top.
"He now has a teammate who always drives on the limit. That made Vettel get out of his comfort zone and really fight. He can do that, but whether he's still completely motivated - we'll see this year."
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I don't agree entirely with Helmut's observations. I think he... as well as others on this blog have overlooked a driver who can and does have the it factor. It's not Charles. But he's got the team right. The best kept secret is about to show his true potential.
If Vettel really needs to be his team only priority and the car that is custom made for him, it pretty much means he is not the best. The best can adapt, Vettel can't. And he doesn't do well with pressure either. When he is pressured, there's no results. When his teammate is a challenge, season is lost. Right now he's not even in top 10 based on his latest performance. Since 2017 he is just going downhill. Maybe he should just salvage whatever he can with his legacy and retire. He has a family, that's very good reason for quitting.
Vettel has a nice family and that could be a priority