Jos Verstappen fears dominance of Mercedes: "I do have that fear"

For the past seven years, Mercedes have been the best team in Formula 1 by a wide margin. Ferrari came somewhat close in 2017 and 2018, but that was all there was to it. At the start of 2021, Red Bull Racing looked like a real challenger. With a pole for max Verstappen in Bahrain and victory in Imola, their season started well, but now there are doubts.

Fears for Mercedes

After four races Mercedes have gained more and more ground, and that causes doubts in the Verstappen family. ''Yes, I do have that fear. After the winter tests and also after the first race weekend in Bahrain it seemed Red Bull had a very good car compared to Mercedes. But they have been able to turn the tide quickly," Jos said to De Telegraaf.

''We also have to remember that they were superior last year. There have been some aerodynamic changes, but overall that Mercedes remains a very good car. You see that they have a lot less tyre wear at the moment. And I also think Max needs to drive more on the limit. Purely to keep up with them. Because of that he asks a lot more from the tires.''

Verstappen gets more out of it

Jos Verstappen sees things going Mercedes' way, but feels there is still hope within Red Bull. ''Within Red Bull there is no frustration yet. They say: it is still a long season. I personally think Mercedes are a lot faster in qualifying as well, but Max squeezes so much out of it that it is still so close.''

''The difference in speed in the race as we have seen in the last races, is also there on Saturday during qualifying. Max and his race engineer still manage to get everything out of that car over that one, fast lap. In the race they try to do the same. But then the tyres wear out faster," concluded Max's father.