Verstappen favorite for the Austrian GP?

Max Verstappen will be one to watch closely this weekend on the Red Bull Spielberg Ring. The Red Bull driver allowed his team to win the last two editions of its national event, notably against the formidable Mercedes. Despite the absence of his fans, who are always present in large numbers on the European circuits, the star of the Red Bull should have a great opportunity to make an impression at this delayed start to the season.

“I would rather win the title, commented the 22-year-old Dutchman. I don't think too much about the hat trick, the most important thing for me is to have a good car and to race at my best level. I never considered myself to be the favorite. When you look at the track (at the Red Bull Ring), it's not even our best track. We had the advantage of having high temperatures last year by managing to manage the engine temperature well. »

“I don't expect an easy victory. Mercedes should be very strong and we still don't know where they will be Ferrari. So it will be a very tough fight to win the race, but we will try our luck”, said the Red Bull driver.

If Mercedes once again showed promising performances at the Barcelona winter tests held last February, Red Bull can hope to create a surprise by putting an end to the Silver Arrows series.

“I really hope we have our chances, but it’s hard to say, explained Max Verstappen. The only thing I am certain of is that we will do our best for this. Mercedes remains the benchmark to beat because it is the team that has dominated for a long time. They are still very competitive and they will remain hard to beat, but our team learned a lot last year and I am convinced that we are stronger. I will do my best to reduce the gap and make life difficult for them. It's a great challenge that's coming up. »

Max Verstappen was the best performer in 2019 behind the Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton et Valtteri Bottas notably winning three times.