Verstappen on F1 2023 title fight: “I don’t count out Lewis” 

Defending world champions Red Bull and Verstappen are the outright favourites for the world titles heading into the new campaign after a strong pre-season test. 

Mercedes have remained pessimistic about their chances of returning to title contention following a torrid 2022 season but Verstappen is not ruling out another battle with Hamilton. 

Verstappen beat Hamilton to the 2021 world title after an intense fight that ran until the very last lap of that year’s hugely controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 

“I don’t count out Lewis and Mercedes,” Verstappen told Standard Sport. “They have a different philosophy and maybe it takes a little bit more time to nail it.

“With these new cars, we don’t know what direction it is going to give the biggest margin in terms of where you improve. 

“Maybe at one point, we stall, I don’t know. Maybe they still have a lot of untapped potential.”

Hamilton, 38, endured the worst season of his F1 career last year as he failed to win a race for the first time and was surprisingly out-performed by new Mercedes teammate George Russell. 

But Verstappen believes Hamilton will remain potent threat despite his age, providing he has a competitive car. 

“I think in F1 age is not like where you lose a bit of pace,” he said. “I think Fernando [Alonso] shows that it’s definitely possible to continue at the top.”