Verstappen expecting Ferrari to compete with Mercedes in Canada

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen believes Ferrari will be more competitive in time for the Canadian Grand Prix, that gets underway on Sunday.

Verstappen was involved in a near race-long battle with Lewis Hamilton last time out in Monaco, but a five-second penalty for the 21-year-old meant that Sebastian Vettel finished in P2.

The Dutchman was knocked down to fourth-place in the drivers' individual standings, but his RB15 has often competed with the two Ferraris and Verstappen is expecting a "challenging" race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

"The track is actually pretty challenging even though it looks like there are quite a lot of straights," Verstappen said, as cited from The Checkered Flag. "The chicanes and how you ride the kerbs is important as it can compromise you a lot if you make a mistake.

The Red Bull driver is expecting a strong showing from Ferrari in Montreal, and believes it will be more difficult for his own team to compete with the Maranello-based team.

"It's a fun track, at least you can overtake if needed and I always enjoy going there," the Dutchman continued. "I expect Ferrari to be more competitive in Canada, so for us it may be a bit more difficult, but as always, we will try and maximise the result."