Max Verstappen failed to mention his team-mate Sergio Perez when reeling off a list of drivers he feels are capable of fighting for the Formula 1 title if given a competitive car.
Verstappen is gearing up for another season which begins in a few weeks – a second into which he comes as the defending champion. He romped to the 2022 title with nearest rival Charles Leclerc a whopping 146 points adrift by the end of the year, so dominant were the Dutchman and his Red Bull team.
The gap to team-mate Perez was 149, as he comfortably won that intra-team battle. His 15 race victories compared to the Mexican's two also demonstrated that there is a huge gap for Perez to close if he is to mount a serious title challenge to his colleague this year.
It remains to be seen who else will be in the hunt. Ferrari will expect to mount a less brittle challenge this year with Leclerc and Carlos Sainz again behind the wheel. And, after a 2022 season to forget for Mercedes, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be desperate to be back in the hunt.
Speaking at Red Bull's season launch event, Verstappen name-checked Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell and Lando Norris as real threats to him this year if their cars are competitive. But he failed to mention his fellow Red Bull driver Perez, while Ferrari's Sainz was also omitted from his list.
Asked by Sky Sports if he sees Hamilton as dangerous of a threat as others this year, Verstappen said: "Of course he is. He's been one of the greatest drivers ever in the sport so, for sure, if he has the car to do it then he can fight for the title again. That's the same for George, for Charles and for Lando – if you give them a car which is capable of winning a championship, they can.
"It's also about when you have the car and the pressure comes – you cannot afford mistakes, or at least not big mistakes. That's a little bit of a different pressure to have, but I'm confident that once these guys get on a roll, it is possible. They all have the talent to do so."
Speaking at the same event, Perez told reporters including Mirror Sport that the key to catching his team-mate this year will be consistency. He said: "I was able to match him at the beginning of last season but then I had a very rough period during the middle of the season. So, that will be the most important aspect of my season, to find that consistency level.
"In a few races [in 2022] we took the wrong direction with the setup, so we had a rough period of races that put me out of contention. It's important to not have days off in that regard, and to challenge for wins every weekend. It's such a long year that it's really important to take it one by one."
