Max Verstappen is optimistic he is in a strong position to defend his Formula One world title this season but he and his Red Bull team expect a much stronger challenge from Mercedes and Ferrari.
The Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, has also emphasised that the drivers’ right to express themselves must be maintained after the FIA announced it is to ban political statements, with Horner saying: “We don’t want a load of robots without opinions going racing.”
