The new Vettel and Hamilton? Verstappen says so!

Max Verstappen expects himself and Charles Leclerc to become the next Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. The Dutchman believes that both he and Leclerc are the future world champion drivers in the sport currently and will go head-to-head in 2019.

Verstappen has taken Formula One by force since joining back in 2015. The Dutchman has further impressed since being promoted to Red Bull, taking five race victories.

Charles Leclerc also got the F1 world talking in his debut year, largely outperforming his Sauber teammate Marcus Ericsson for much of the season.

It earned him a race seat with Ferrari in 2019 with many tipping the Monegasque driver as the next Ferrari world champion and the first since the man he is replacing, Kimi Raikkonen, took the crown back in 2007. 

Speaking to Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport, Verstappen claimed it would be he and Leclerc fighting for world titles in the near future and was hoping for a battle between the two in 2019.

"Whether Leclerc has a chance at the world title depends on his car and the equipment. If it's good enough, he certainly has a chance.

"If I had a competitive car in my first year, I would have been able to compete directly for the championship.

"Age is not very important, if you have a good car you can always fight for it.

"I imagine we will be like Hamilton and Vettel in the future, because at some point the old generation will disappear."