"Hamilton won't give his place up, but Verstappen will take it"

The Formula 1 season hasn't even started yet, but since Red Bull Racing's strong winter test there has been widespread speculation as to whether they will be able to take on Mercedes for the title. Jan Lammers gives his opinion on it at the NOS Formula 1 podcast.

Asked if Hamilton will have to make way for Verstappen more often this season, Lammers replied: "He won't make way, but I do think Max will take his place away regularly. The crystal ball is a bit cloudy of course, because it's only three days on a specific circuit. Verstappen and Red Bull looked good. Mercedes didn't seem quite ready yet, but they're going to be soon."

He continued: "Up until Monaco you have all sorts of circuits with different layouts, that's when you can really see what it's like. But it's going to be a very exciting year."

When asked if Verstappen is concerned with Perez's performance, Lammers is clear: "Verstappen really won't be concerned with Perez. You're in the car, you see the piece of tarmac in front of you and that's it. Braking, accelerating and steering: That's what he needs to be doing. If you look at Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, for example, you also see that Hamilton is busy with himself, but Bottas is busy with Hamilton. That's the difference."