Max Verstappen has dominated the Formula 1 scene over the past few years - but the Red Bull driver would welcome some much-needed competition from Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen, 25, is a mammoth 53 points ahead at the top of the Drivers' Championship after just seven races. He sits on 170 following his latest victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez second on 117 and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in third (99).
Hamilton, meanwhile, is all the way down in fourth with 87 points and faces an uphill battle to challenge for the top-three, let alone the title. Mercedes colleague George Russell completes the top five, although the Brit has recorded just 65 points from his seven races so far.
However, despite his total dominance, Verstappen wants more teams fighting towards the top and would relish a renewed title rivalry between himself and Hamilton. Verstappen, who has been linked with a shock move to Ferrari, claimed the Drivers' Championships in 2021 and 2022, and has won five of the seven races this season.
Verstappen said : "Yeah, it's great for the sport in general if you have more teams fighting up front. That's what they want to achieve, so honestly, that would be amazing, to have more drivers really up there. Hopefully throughout the year it will get closer and maybe next year there are more teams really up there."
Mercedes have struggled so far this season, but improved at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Hamilton and Russell both finishing on the podium. It meant Perez didn't end up in the top-three, although Verstappen typically won. However, the Dutchman was impressed with the Mercedes' efforts.
"They had a very strong race, to be honest," Verstappen added. "I think they are improving but from our side, it’s not about being worried. We just have to focus on ourselves, trying to keep on improving the car.
"At the moment it all looks great, it’s a good period. I’m happy in the car, and the last few race weekends have definitely been a lot more positive for me.
"This (Spain) was one weekend where it went really well. But we know that maybe at some other tracks it won’t be like this. There are a lot of races to come where we again have to perform really well to try and win."
Verstappen also admitted that Red Bull must keep on improving despite their dominance. He continued: "We have to keep on working and trying to find more performance. We just keep trying to find things on the car, trying to learn – like understanding why the hard (tyre) wasn’t working with the car.
"We’ll see what happens in the coming races. I don’t know if there are going to be tracks that are better or worse. We’ll find out."
