Hakkinen predicts winner of the Japanese GP: 'Gonna be tough to beat him'

It may have been a bit of a shock for Red Bull Racing: Ferrari managing to win the Australian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen's early exit. Team boss Christian Horner said after the race that he thought Ferrari would be slightly too fast anyway, even if the Dutchman had not dropped out. Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen, however, thinks Red Bull has little to worry about in Japan, he told Unibet in his column.

Whereas Red Bull was still extremely dominant in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, this was not the case in Australia. That Verstappen ran away with pole position was not really obvious beforehand. The Dutchman then had to abandon his race after only three laps, leaving Carlos Sainz to take victory without really being challenged by Red Bull.

Hakkinen thinks Verstappen wins in Japan

It will be different in Japan, said Hakkinen: "After a difficult weekend in Australia we have to expect Red Bull to bounce back and be really strong all weekend in Japan. Max Verstappen has won here for the last two years and, unless the team suffers another surprising technical problem similar to the brake issue in Melbourne, it’s hard to see him be threatened in a straight fight."

Hakkinen does think the Ferraris and McLarens will be fast enough to make things difficult for Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez: "Ferrari have a quick car and the win in Melbourne will send both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to Japan in a very positive, motivated mindset. There is nothing like winning to give a team a nice boost!"

The Finn continued: "But McLaren were quick in Suzuka last year, and they too had a good weekend win Melbourne, so let’s see what develops in the Ferrari V McLaren battle for the podium places on Sunday."