MAX VERSTAPPEN has fired a warning to Lewis Hamilton as he aims to bring the fight to Mercedes at EVERY race this season.
Verstappen believes he is well equipped to consistently battle with Mercedes with his new teammate Sergio Perez alongside him.
The Dutchman has fallen short in the past two seasons as his former teammates Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have failed to keep up with him on track.
Verstappen said: “I have known Perez for many years here in the paddock.
“Of course now that we are teammates you get a bit more of an insight into how he’s working and everything so far is running very smoothly.
“And with the feedback we’re heading in the same direction… which I hope is the right direction!
“It’s all going very smoothly and it’s nice to get a bit more of an insight from his side, from his past experience from other teams.
“I just hope as a team now, we can really score a good amount of points and really put the pressure on Mercedes every single race weekend.”
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Verstappen refused to be drawn into criticising his former teammate Albon, who struggled in the Red Bull before being dropped at the end of last season.
The 23-year-old was asked about the shortcomings of his former teammate, after he out-qualified Albon at every race last season.
He added: “I cannot comment from the other side of the garage what was happening and why that was.”
Perez declared he is out to beat his teammate next season as he looks to better Verstappen, rather than operate as a support act.
Perez said: “I want to beat Max, and Max wants to beat me.
“We want to push the team forward and if we are able to create that competition between us, that will be in the benefit of the team.
“We are both very mature and we’ve been here long enough to cope with that.
“I just hope that I am able to put the pressure onto Max and we can both grow together and push the team forward.”
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