Verstappen seen as a champion-in-waiting

LIKE many others, Lewis Hamilton sees Red Bull’s Dutch hotshot Max Verstappen as a Formula One worldchampion-in-waiting.

And the Briton also intends to keep it that way for as long as possible.

“Whilst I’m here I’m going to be doing everything I can to stop him from winning,” the Mercedes driver and four-times world champion told reporters during this month’s preseason testing in Barcelona.

“I’m sure people won’t particularly love that but that’s what we’re here to do, we’re here to battle. So I’m looking forward to having some really positive battles with him, hopefully this year.”

The evidence from eight days in Spain would appear to indicate that the reigning champion’s task is not about to get any easier, even if he remains the favourite to take another title.

Former champions Red Bull finished last season strongly and could be pushing Mercedes and Ferrari harder than ever when the lights go out at the season-opener in Australia on March 25.

The body language from Red Bull team bosses certainly suggests hopes are up.

That could make things very interesting indeed. Not just for the fans but also between 20-year-old Verstappen, with his army of orange shirted fans, and smiling but ferociously quick Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo.

“There’s three quick teams and there’s no doubt that Red Bull are going to be the people that we are going to be fighting with this year,” said Mercedes technical head James Allison during the final week of testing.

Ricciardo wrote the headlines last week when he went faster around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya than anyone since the track was reconfigured in 2007, even if Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel went quicker the next day. —