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<\/div>Lewis Hamilton believes Max Verstappen represents stiff competition, both in the opening two Formula One races in Austria and in the 2020 season as a whole.<\/p>\n
Ferrari have embarked upon a major redesign of their car after struggles in pre-season testing, with Charles Leclerc saying he is “99 per cent certain” they will struggle more than they did last year.<\/p>\n
The Italian team’s upgrades will not be available until Hungary, but Red Bull are an immediate threat after impressing Mercedes in the pre-season period before the coronavirus lockdown.<\/p>\n
Verstappen has won in Austria for each of the last two seasons, and will be optimistic of a fast start when the Red Bull Ring hosts the first two races of a revised 2020 calendar amid the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
“I mean, they looked quite strong through testing,” Mercedes driver Hamilton said when asked if Red Bull represented the biggest threat for the new Formula One campaign.<\/p>\n
“It was quite close between the top three teams in testing – I think Red Bull particularly being the closest to us from our understanding.<\/p>\n
“And Max is progressing year on year, so I anticipate they are going to be strong competitors.<\/p>\n
“They are always very strong here at this track, so definitely going to be a challenge these two weekends. But I’m excited to see how that goes.”<\/p>\n
Hamilton has not won in Austria since 2016 and only has a longer streak without victory in Australia of the circuits that were on last year’s calendar.<\/p>\n
Team-mate Valtteri Bottas triumphed in 2017, before Verstappen’s double wins came amid Mercedes woe over the last two years, including major cooling issues in the 2019 race.<\/p>\n
“We’ve not been terrible [since 2017], but it is a challenging circuit with the height of the circuit, the temperatures that we see,” added Hamilton.<\/p>\n
“We’ve arrived here [in previous years] and it’s usually kind of not in the perfect window of operating temperatures for our car.<\/p>\n
“But I’d like to think we’re in a better position this year with improvements that we’ve made for this season’s car. So, time will tell.”<\/p>\n
Bottas was also in an optimistic mood as he looks to push six-time world champion Hamilton closer this year.<\/p>\n
“I was pretty happy when I heard there was going to be two races here, I like this track,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Historically, if you look in the past, I’ve also had tracks that have not been very successful but I’ve still been able to be good there.<\/p>\n
“It’s tricky to say anything from the past – it’s a new season after a long break. But I feel I’ve had good preparations within myself and with the team – so that’s why I do feel confident.<\/p>\n
“Very soon we’ll see where we are as a team and also me personally pace-wise.”<\/p>\n
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Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes Lewis Hamilton believes Max Verstappen represents stiff competition, both in the opening two Formula One races in Austria and in the 2020 season as a whole. Ferrari have embarked upon a major redesign of their car after struggles in pre-season testing, with Charles Leclerc saying he is “99 per cent certain” they will … Continue reading Hamilton anticipating strong challenge from Verstappen<\/span><\/a> Continue Reading