Tensions between Verstappen and Perez? 'Clear story for Max'

Gerhard Berger thinks Red Bull Racing is the favourite this season. The DTM boss, a good friend of Helmut Marko, sees the Austrian formation getting their act together best during the test days. Still, he warns the Milton Keynes-based team to be wary of the competition.

Is the team around world champion Verstappen really as superior as it already seems? "You have to look at that carefully," Berger is quoted by Krone. "They are ahead, they have done a good job, the car is also stable. That's why Red Bull are the favourites for me. But it is also dangerous when everything looks so clear, there is usually competition around the corner somewhere."

The 63-year-old former Formula One driver notes that Ferrari looks fast over one lap again in 2023, but that there are still much-needed steps to take in terms of tyre degradation. According to Berger, the situation at Mercedes is not as dramatic as it might have seemed last week in Bahrain. He argues that if the W14 is good on the tarmac soon, the team can reap the benefits in the long runs.

Excitement at Red Bull?

Possibly Aston Martin will also move to the front, but Berger sees that Red Bull and Ferrari are really still quite a bit ahead. So Verstappen seems to face competition mainly from the corner of Ferrari. And perhaps his teammate Sergio Perez. The former Ferrari team boss doesn't think the tension of last season, when Verstappen refused to let his teammate pass him in Brazil, will play a significant role in 2023. "There is no tension there, it's a clear story for Verstappen - and Pérez knows that too."