Verstappen to fight Hamilton this year? 'It will be a spectacular championship'

When the first race in Austria ended in July, the mood at Red Bull Racing was anything but positive. With a double retirement, all hopes of a championship were dashed and on top of that Mercedes was once again a lot stronger. With few changes for 2021, Tom Coronel hopes that Max Verstappen and Red Bull will be able to fight for the championship.

"What we have seen in any case is that Mercedes was the strongest again last year, all season. We've also seen that Red Bull has closed that gap considerably. The question now is how far Red Bull and Mercedes have developed," the Dutchman explains in conversation with Motorsport.com.

Verstappen for the championship?

Coronel also sees that Red Bull's engine manufacturer can play a major role next season. "If Honda steps out this year, they know that this year is the year they have to perform, but also the only year."

Because of that last year with Honda, there will be extra pressure to perform well. Coronel expects that with an equal battle between Mercedes and Red Bull, it could become a nice season.

"If Mercedes and Red Bull are equal in speed next year, then it will be cool. If they are both equally fast, then you have Red Bull's quick pit stops and Max's fierceness. It could be the year of spectacle around the championship, I think. If they don't win it in the end, it won't matter. At least they were there. Not that we have another gap of one second at the beginning of the year," Coronel concludes.