Verstappen doesn't want to make a prediction: 'A lot is different from last year'

Tomorrow's first free practice session in Bahrain will see the first official metres of the Formula 1 season. As with the grid, Max Verstappen's strengths and negotiating position in the battle for the title will become increasingly clear as the weekend progresses. In a press conference the Dutchman explained the situation.

"Everything is different and so it's hard to say," Verstappen said, with Formule1.nl present."The floor has changed and the tyres were different from last year". Those big changes don't seem to cause many problems for Red Bull and so a lot of work could already be done on the setup of the RB16B.

Predictable car for Red Bull

Verstappen also saw that there were no major problems and that the car felt good right away."The main thing was to feel that the car was predictable, despite the wind". Sergio Perez, Verstappen's new teammate, also sees that Red Bull's new car is stable."It's the most competitive car I've driven in my career".

Verstappen does not dare make real predictions yet, partly because of the speed that Mercedes still has behind them, Verstappen explained that after this weekend the ranking will only really become visible."I've said that many times in the last few weeks, we're going to see it on the track," the Dutchman concluded.