Rosberg predicts: 'Going to see moments when it's too much for Verstappen'

In short: it is war between the two teams. Nico Rosberg also sees this, stating to Sky Sports that he believes Mercedes are handling it better than Red Bull.

"Management is crucial and Toto has managed it very well. He makes Red Bull look more and more like the bad guys with [their] attempts to protest and all that stuff. He's also super smart with playing the media game and also internally, really getting everyone up to try and beat them together."

Red Bull not playing it smart

At least that's how Rosberg sees it. He then focuses on Horner in particular. "I would say, maybe not so smart and well played (by Horner and Red Bull) the last few days. Then you don't qualify that well, Max's car had more pace than that, so it all comes together and I would definitely say in favour of Hamilton and Mercedes at the moment."

Verstappen still young

According to the German, Verstappen's age is still sometimes forgotten about."I also wouldn't underestimate how difficult it is for Max to be favourite for the world championship for the first time in his life. The pressure just goes up exponentially and it's a difficult thing to manage."

"We also have to remember that he is still very young, even though he has been in F1 for seven years," Rosberg continued. "So we could well see moments where it just gets a bit too much for him." The battle on and off the track will continue in three weeks' time, when racing re-starts in Belgium.