Max Verstappen tips Mercedes over Ferrari as Red Bull’s greatest threat for 2023
Mercedes' made great progress through the course of last season, and Max Verstappen thinks they'll be Red Bull's greatest rival - on one condition.
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Max Verstappen
Red Bull, powered by Max Verstappen, were the dominant force last season. That much is beyond dispute. However, their closest challengers were different depending on the race. Generally, Ferrari, who at a point looked like the team to beat, were their closest competition in the first half of the season. In the second half, it was mostly Mercedes, though they weren’t as close as Ferrari had been.
But what the Silver Arrows did have going for them is their great rate of development. They were much closer to Red Bull towards the end than they were at the start of the season. On the other hand, Ferrari seemed to regress, culminating in Mexico City. That was likely their worst race of the season on pace. The Italians likely had some performance in hand, as they turned down the engine (in the second half of the season). Despite that, many people feel that Mercedes may be Red Bull’s closest competition next season.
Helmut Marko has stated multiple times that it would be the case. Now, he’s been joined by Verstappen in this. As quoted by formula1.com, the Dutchman said: “I think even at the end of the year it looked like sometimes they [Mercedes] had it together, and sometimes not. So, from my side, it’s difficult to say because I’m not part of the team, but I guess we’ll find out this year. If they fully understand everything they wanted to improve on the car, of course, they will be our main rival.”
The Dutchman thinks Ferrari will be ‘strong’, but also expressed uncertainty at just how good they can be in 2023. He said: “But I think Ferrari will be strong – but how strong is difficult to say. But Mercedes have shown of course over the last few years that they’ve been really, really, really strong, but they have a good group of people as well.” concluding by saying that he hopes Red Bull will ‘again have a strong package’ against their rivals.
Max Verstappen lauds Lewis Hamilton as ‘one of the greatest drivers ever’
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton gave the Formula 1 world one of the greatest championship fights in recent history. Likely one of the greatest of all time. However, the Briton took a backseat in 2022 – the car wasn’t good enough for most of the races. But he may get his chance for ‘revenge’ in 2023. There is a lot of talk about a potential three-way (teams) title battle in the upcoming season. Many have also placed confidence in Mercedes to take a big step forward.
If that does happen, Hamilton will certainly have a chance. When asked by Sky Sports’ if the seven-time world champion was still a ‘dangerous threat’, Verstappen said: “Of course he is. He’s one of the greatest drivers ever in the sport. If he has the car to do it, he can fight for the title again. It’s the same for George, for Charles, it’s the same for Lando. If you give them a car that’s capable of winning a championship, they can.”
Fans will get an inkling of how the season will go in just over two weeks at the pre-season testing in Bahrain. But for a true look at it, everyone will have to wait till qualifying. Mostly every neutral will be hoping for a three-way title fight – the more the merrier. More competition is always good for the sport.
In case you missed it:
- Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo demand to have a F1 race in South Africa
- Max Verstappen responds to Lewis Hamilton’s ‘maybe Verstappen has a problem with me’ claim
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)