Mark Webber believes Red Bull ace can ruffle Lewis Hamilton’s feathers, writes Phil Dillon

RED Bull are on the charge and their former top driver, Australia’s Mark Webber, is expecting a top season from the team’s rising star, Max Verstappen.

After spending seven years with Red Bull from 2007-13 and winning nine races for the team, Webber still does some work for them.

He will also fill the role of analyst at Channel 10 in the upcoming Formula 1 season and reckons Verstappen is the one to watch this year alongside reigning champion Lewis Hamilton.

There was speculation in the off-season that the British driver, who won his sixth world title in 2019, could be on the move from Mercedes, with rival Ferrari one of the reported destinations.

But with all that speculation seemingly over, Webber said it was time to get down to business and predicted fans would be in for a bumper season – starting with the Australian Grand Prix this weekend at Melbourne’s Albert Park.

“It will be tighter than last year. I think he (Hamilton) will be pushed by Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, particularly Max,” said Webber, who also drove for Minardi, Williams and Jaguar in his 11-year F1 career.

“I think he could be great for Red Bull.

“Lewis is staying at Mercedes and I think he will break all the records that are ahead of him.

“I think the journos were pretty bored in the off-season, so they had to write a lot of stuff. Once the season gets going they can write about the facts and that’s race results, race wins and race losses.

“I think that Lewis is the favourite for the year again.

“His motivation is incredibly high but he will not have it all his own way.

“Verstappen could be quite dangerous in terms of how strong he and the team will be.

“They need to look to getting five or six victories, getting more consistent.”