Lewis Hamilton insists Mercedes are going to have their work cut out as he predicts a closer F1 battle in 2021 with Max Verstappen and the newly acquired Red Bull driver Sergio Perez proving formidable drivers.
Perez was confirmed as Alex Albon’s replacement for next season last Friday, putting an end to months of speculation with Red Bull hoping the former Racing Point driver, a standout performer and race-winner in 2020, helps Verstappen challenge Mercedes. That was often not possible with Albon, who despite two podiums, struggled for consistent form.
And Hamilton, during the FIA Awards Ceremony, praised Red Bull saying the team is now a much bigger threat.
“With all due respect to Alex, in the races we’ve had it’s been me and Valtteri (Bottas) against Max,” Hamilton said.
“Now I’ve been in the position that Max is in, once particularly when I was at McLaren when I was the lead car and the second car wasn’t in the fight so when we were fighting against Ferrari they could really move around with the strategy and make it a lot harder for us.
“I think naturally this makes Red Bull stronger, particularly with the way Sergio is performing. I think Sergio has driven incredibly well this year and truly deserved a drive so I was so happy to hear he has been taken on by one of the top teams and given this opportunity.
“I think it’s going to be an exciting battle to watch him up against Max and that’s going to make it much harder for us as a team.”
Hamilton made the comments before he celebrated his seventh F1 championship and Mercedes, their seventh clean sweep of the titles in a row.
But he added: “We’re going to have to really step up our game [in 2021], because that’s going to be a battle we’ve not seen for some time, in terms of having the two drivers there fighting against us.
“But we relish that as a team, that’s what we work towards, we love the challenge and it’s going to make it that much more exciting.”
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