Alex Wurz has praised his former Williams teammate Nico Rosberg as the best qualifier in formula one.
On all but one qualifying occasion last year, 33-year-old Wurz was beaten to a better grid position by Rosberg.
Wurz’s struggle for performance last year preceded his decision to retire from the sport as a racer and switch to Honda as the Japanese team’s primary test driver — a role in which Wurz is credited for being arguably the best in F1.
“Nico developed so much between the 2006 and 2007 seasons,” the Austrian veteran told Motorsport Aktuell.
“Especially in qualifying, I think that he is the best in the paddock,” Wurz added.
Even without racing in the season finale, Wurz ended 2007 with 13 out of Williams’ 20 points, but team co-owner Patrick Head does not think the former McLaren test driver performed strongly last year.
“We did our best to help him, but it did not work,” the Toyota-powered team’s engineering veteran said.
Head acknowledges the highlights of Wurz’s season, including the podium in Canada, but insists that at other races there was seldom “a sign that he could frequently go into the points”.
