Mercedes snubbed as Verstappen names rival team with ‘best driver line-up’

The Red Bull driver dominated the Qatar Grand Prix to notch up his 14th victory from 17 races this season on a weekend he also clinched his third world title. 

Verstappen was crowned after a second-place finish behind Piastri in Saturday’s sprint race, before cruising to his latest win in the grand prix. 

Piastri took runner-up spot ahead of teammate Norris as a rejuvenated McLaren celebrated their second double podium in as many days. 

And Verstappen considers the McLaren duo to be a stronger pairing than the likes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at Mercedes, or Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. 

“I do think that as a team they are probably the most consistent, compared to the others behind us,” Verstappen said when asked if he feels McLaren are now Red Bull’s closest challengers. 

“And I do think they have the best driver line-up out of all of them. 

“So yeah, they are operating really well. And, yeah, it's going to be interesting to the end of the year, but also I think the start of next year to see where everyone is at.”

The Dutchman added: “I do think we had a bit more pace in hand if we really needed it but nevertheless, I don't want to take anything away from McLaren. 

“They've been doing a great job and from us, we see that they are getting closer and closer. So we have to try and of course maintain a bit of a gap.”