Kobayashi: "Max will get less out of car at Mercedes than at Red Bull"

Max Verstappen has a new teammate at Red Bull Racing this season with Sergio Perez. Kamui Kobayashi saw the young Mexican make his debut with the Sauber team in 2011, who brought Perez in to replace Nick Heidfeld.

In the Beyond The Grid podcast, Kobayashi shines his light on Perez's chances against a very talented teammate like Verstappen. "He is definitely strong and he will definitely do well. However, the question is how he will be able to get used to the car. Every team has a different kind of car. One car is more focused on understeer and the other more on oversteer."

The Japanese continued. "I think Max is a perfect fit for Red Bull Racing's car. If he were to leave for Mercedes, for example, I don't think he would get as much performance out of the car as he does now at Red Bull. He's getting 110% out of the Red Bull now."

"Max will definitely get 100% out of the Mercedes, but 110%? I have my doubts about that. Most important is that Max really fits within the Red Bull team. Checo will have a hard time with that, although I'm sure he'll do well," Kobayashi concludes.