Mercedes is trying to “push” Red Bull into the role of title favourite for 2021. That is the view of Max Verstappen, who others think is genuinely most likely to win this season given Mercedes’ high-profile testing problems. “You can see what Mercedes did from the data,” Verstappen told Ziggo Sport. “Something like that can happen easily, as I experienced myself in the tests so I don’t think we should worry too much about it.”. “Mercedes also didn’t do a film day or shakedown before the test so maybe they were a little off with the setup. Verstappen, 23, said Mercedes “trying to push us into the role of favourites” is also a move to relieve pressure on the title-winning team.

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