Mercedes chief Ola Kallenius believes Max Verstappen would "look good in silver" as he strongly hinted at the team's continued interest in the Red Bull driver.

Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari at the end of the year, though the team are yet to announce who his replacement will be.

Since Hamilton's announcement, Mercedes have talked up Verstappen, who has a contract with Red Bull until 2028.

However, rumours have circled the Dutchman's future with the team after legendary designer Adrian Newey announced his departure at the end of the season, with Verstappen, who won the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend, stressing he wants to be in the "right environment" in the fastest car.

Speaking to Sky Germany, Kallenius once again made his interest in drawing Verstappen over to Mercedes clear.

"The best driver wants to have the best car. And that's our job, to bring the best package together," Kallenius said.

"The cards will be reshuffled in 2026. New order with new rules. That's also an opportunity. Who knows?

"But I think Max would look good in silver, wouldn't he?"

Despite those comments, Toto Wolff previously confirmed there had been no official talks with Verstappen.

It is rumoured that 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli could be in line to partner George Russell next season, while Verstappen remains an outside target.

Lando Norris described himself as "99% happy" with where McLaren are in their ongoing pursuit of Max Verstappen, but the Briton is desperate to start cutting into the world champion's lead.

Verstappen finished two seconds clear of Norris to edge a keenly contested Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, extending his championship advantage to 69 points.

Norris is taking the fight to the Dutchman, having finished in the top two in five of the last six Formula One races.

However, he was frustrated not to convert his pole position to a victory in Barcelona, having also fallen just short at the previous race in Canada.

Norris rued a start to the race which saw him passed by Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell, who ultimately finished fourth behind the two championship contenders and team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

"I should have done better," Norris said after the race, per BBC Sport. 

"We should have got some points back on Max. Potentially there was a chance to beat him in Canada. Two races I have been second and he has won.

"But Max needs to stop winning. He is still extending [his lead] at the minute but we cannot afford to let him run away with it. 

"If I made some better decisions in Canada and had made a better start [in Spain], we would have won two races. We have what it takes; it’s just about putting it all together.

"I am happy with 99% of things and it is just the 1% - which is a big part of it - wasn’t enough.

"Two metres I lost out in the beginning and this was enough for Max to be on the inside. If George wasn’t on the outside I could have covered him, but George got a good start and got a perfect slipstream, nothing I can do about that.

"As soon as you make one mistake, they are going to be ahead."

Verstappen and Norris both said after the race that the McLaren is currently the fastest car on the track.

But Norris, who did triumph at the Miami Grand Prix last month, lost crucial ground to Verstappen as he remained behind Russell in the early stages until his compatriot pitted.

He added: "I got a bad start, simple as that, and then I just couldn’t get past George. The car was incredible and we were for sure the quickest, I just lost it at the beginning. 

"Lots of positives, one negative and I know that. I can work on it for next time."

Norris will be back on track soon, with the Austrian Grand Prix and British Grand Prix to follow swiftly as part of a run which sees three races take place in as many weeks, part of the longest season in F1 history.

He added: "Austria and Silverstone – two of my favourite tracks. We are on a good roll. I just need to tidy up a few bits and then we will be on top."

The result saw Norris move up to second in the drivers' standings, two points clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had to settle for fifth place in Spain.

Max Verstappen pinpointed a rapid start as the key to his fourth Spanish Grand Prix triumph on Sunday.

The Red Bull driver secured his seventh Formula One victory of the 2024 season in Barcelona, but needed to hold off charges from McLaren's Lando Norris and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen started the race behind pole-sitting Norris but soon fell down to third after George Russell surged to the front into the first corner.

Yet the Dutchman seized control after bursting past Russell a few laps later, referencing his early pursuit as pivotal to his seventh triumph in 10 races this campaign.

"I think what made the race was the beginning, I took the lead [at the start of Lap 3], and that's where I had my buffer then in that first stint where I could eke out that gap a little bit," Verstappen said.

"I think after that, we had to drive quite a defensive race. Lando and McLaren, they were very, very quick today, especially on degradation, it seems always the last few laps of the stint, they were very, very fast.

"But then I think we did everything well, we drove quite, I think, an aggressive strategy, but luckily it paid out until the end – it was quite close until the end but very happy to win here."

Pressed on those opening moments, Verstappen added: "I had to do a bit of rallying on the straight, I had to go onto the grass a bit, which lost me a bit of momentum, so then of course we braked quite late into Turn 1.

"Then, of course, I was quite determined to try and get the lead. Once I was in the lead, I could look after my tyres a bit better, and that definitely made my race today."

This victory extended Verstappen's championship lead to 69 points, with Norris now his nearest challenger and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc dropping back down to third.

Considering this race success, Verstappen lauded his tyre-management ability.

"It's just managing the tyres, they get very hot around here with all the high-speed corners, so you're sliding around actually quite a lot," he added.

"It was just managing the race throughout."

Verstappen will now prepare for the Austrian Grand Prix next Sunday.

Max Verstappen claimed his fourth Spanish Grand Prix triumph in Barcelona as he continues to increase his lead at the summit of the F1 driver's championship. 

Having started second on the grid after Lando Norris snatched pole position from his grasp on the last lap of qualifying, the three-time world champion wasted no time in overtaking the McClaren driver. 

However, George Russell raced around the outside to take the lead in the race going into the first corner, having started fourth on the grid. 

But it would not take long for the Dutchman to reclaim the position he has found himself in for much of the season, performing an exceptional overtake on Russell before remaining in control of the race throughout, despite Norris' late charge.

Lewis Hamilton would come home in third for Mercedes, claiming his first podium of the season, with team-mate Russell eventually finishing fourth, closing the gap to both McClaren and Ferrari in the constructors' championship. 

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had yet another disappointing afternoon on the track, while Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez picked up four points, having finished in eighth place, despite starting the race in 11th after being handed a three-place grid penalty from the Canada Grand Prix. 

Final standings

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

4. George Russell (Mercedes)

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

8. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are confident they can claim victory from the clutches of Lando Norris ahead of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. 

The pair, who have won the previous eight Spanish Grands Prix between them (three for Verstappen and five for Hamilton), start second and third on the grid in Barcelona. 

The seven-time world champion out-qualified team-mate George Russell for only the second time this season as the Mercedes drivers took third and fourth, underlining their re-emergence as contenders close to the front after a series of car developments. 

“I’m really happy, thank you everyone I’m super happy to be here in the top three," Hamilton said. "It’s been a difficult year and a huge amount of work from everyone back at the factory, and finally we are starting to see those incremental steps moving closer to the guys ahead.

“I didn’t expect us to be fighting for pole necessarily, but there were bits there where I thought maybe we will be close and so to be there I’m just grateful.”

On the team making steps forward, he added: “We’ve made huge steps forward and it’s really just down to every single individual back at the factory who is pushing and designing and making the new parts that we get to bring as early as possible to these races.

"Slowly the car is crafting into a racing machine that we can hopefully fight the guys at the front.

“George did a great job today so hopefully tomorrow we can apply pressure to the two cars ahead.” 

Red Bull's Verstappen will start on the front row, but in second place after being pipped by Norris to claim his second career pole. 

The Dutchman appeared out of reach when he improved his own time, which was already fastest, by more than 0.2 seconds on his final run, only for Norris to cross the line moments later to beat Verstappen by 0.02 seconds. 

However, Verstappen is confident of claiming a seventh victory of the season to grow his lead over Leclerc at the top of the driver's championship. 

"I think in qualifying it was all coming together a bit nicer," Verstappen said. "We have been trying to find the balance because the practice sessions have been difficult.

"So I was quite happy in qualifying - I even got a nice little tow from Checo to Turn One to really extract everything we could. But unfortunately, it was just not enough. That is how it goes sometimes and overall we can still be very happy with this performance in qualifying and definitely all to play for tomorrow.

"Even throughout qualifying, the wind started to pick up a little bit, maybe that made it a bit more difficult for us. Overall, a good performance again in qualifying.

"They are never easy qualis because you're always in a battle with yourself. of course now, there's more teams. And when it's that close for pole position, it's always great."

Max Verstappen is still the favourite to win the Formula One world title, but Lando Norris is more confident that the Red Bull driver can be caught.

Verstappen is in the hunt for his fourth straight world championship crown, and leads the drivers' standings with five race wins to his name in 2024.

However, only 31 points separate the Dutchman, who is on 169, and second-placed Charles Leclerc, while McLaren's Norris sits third with 113 following his victory in Miami last month.

Mercedes, meanwhile, have come back into contention in recent races, with both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton impressing in qualifying, albeit they have been unable to translate that into a victory as of yet.

But with more contenders, Norris feels the field is opening up.

"There is more chance and possibilities now, especially if Mercedes are in the fight; more chance of having a bigger swing of points." he said, as per BBC Sport, ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

"A bad weekend for Max was third but it could be fifth or sixth.

"And if you can be the guy who wins, within one weekend you can turn quite a lot of points around fairly quickly. If it goes like that, there is a higher chance."

Norris conceded, though, that Verstappen is still at the very top of his game.

He added: "Max's bad weekend is never going to be a bad weekend. It's still going to be a good amount of points. He is just strong in all areas. It is rare he makes mistakes or messes up qualifying.

"But with more pressure you never know how that changes, and always with pressure it is always easier to make mistakes."

In the world of Mercedes, Hamilton has urged the team's fans to give backing to Russell, who has faced accusations of the team favouring him, given his team-mate is set to join Ferrari next season.

"I think they know if you look over the years, we've always been a strong team. We've always worked really hard together," Hamilton told reporters.

"I think we need support, not negativity, and I wasn't actually aware that George was experiencing negativity.

"George has done nothing but his best every single weekend and is delivering for the team, so he can't be faulted at all.

"Of course, there can always be things done better within the team, and that comes through conversation, through communication, and that's something that we are consistently working on.

"But we're all in the same boat. We're all working hard together. We want to finish on a high and feel that we owe that to our long-term relationship that we've had."

Max Verstappen is still the favourite to win the Formula One world title, but Lando Norris is more confident that the Red Bull driver can be caught.

Verstappen is in the hunt for his fourth straight world championship crown, and leads the drivers' standings with five race wins to his name in 2024.

However, only 31 points separate the Dutchman, who is on 169, and second-placed Charles Leclerc, while McLaren's Norris sits third with 113 following his victory in Miami last month.

Mercedes, meanwhile, have come back into contention in recent races, with both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton impressing in qualifying, albeit they have been unable to translate that into a victory as of yet.

But with more contenders, Norris feels the field is opening up.

"There is more chance and possibilities now, especially if Mercedes are in the fight; more chance of having a bigger swing of points." he said, as per BBC Sport, ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

"A bad weekend for Max was third but it could be fifth or sixth.

"And if you can be the guy who wins, within one weekend you can turn quite a lot of points around fairly quickly. If it goes like that, there is a higher chance."

Norris conceded, though, that Verstappen is still at the very top of his game.

He added: "Max's bad weekend is never going to be a bad weekend. It's still going to be a good amount of points. He is just strong in all areas. It is rare he makes mistakes or messes up qualifying.

"But with more pressure you never know how that changes, and always with pressure it is always easier to make mistakes."

In the world of Mercedes, Hamilton has urged the team's fans to give backing to Russell, who has faced accusations of the team favouring him, given his team-mate is set to join Ferrari next season.

"I think they know if you look over the years, we've always been a strong team. We've always worked really hard together," Hamilton told reporters.

"I think we need support, not negativity, and I wasn't actually aware that George was experiencing negativity.

"George has done nothing but his best every single weekend and is delivering for the team, so he can't be faulted at all.

"Of course, there can always be things done better within the team, and that comes through conversation, through communication, and that's something that we are consistently working on.

"But we're all in the same boat. We're all working hard together. We want to finish on a high and feel that we owe that to our long-term relationship that we've had."

Sergio Perez has apologised following a second successive retirement at the Canada Grand Prix which left him 87 points behind Red Bull team-mate, Max Vertsappen.

The 34-year-old remained fifth overall in the world championship and a point behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who was one of five drivers that failed to finish the race. 

In difficult conditions in Montreal, the Mexican started 16th but hopes of climbing up the pecking order soon faded after damaging his car's front wing on the opening lap when he made contact with Alpine's Pierre Gasly.

He then crashed into the barriers late in the day after losing control on a damp kerb at turn six, hobbling back to the pits with a broken rear wing. 

"I'm very sorry for my team, I let them down today. But we will come back no doubt. There’s a very long way to go," Perez said on social media.

His final incident cost him a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Barcelona, with the stewards punishing him for a breach of the safety rules that require a driver to stop if the car is unsafe.

"The incident was on me, I touched the wet part into turn six and I couldn’t stop the car, I couldn’t touch the brakes," Perez said on Sunday.

"It has been a very tough couple of weekends, we will regroup, keep our heads down and learn from the weekend. We identified a couple of issues after qualifying and they meant we would have qualified a lot higher.

"Hopefully we can be back to our form in Spain and get back to the level we were at earlier in the season. I am confident in that, there are good tracks coming for us."

Perez recently signed a new two-year deal with Red Bull, ending speculation that the world champions will sign free agent Sainz ahead of the new season. 

Sergio Perez has apologised following a second successive retirement at the Canada Grand Prix which left him 87 points behind Red Bull team-mate, Max Vertsappen.

The 34-year-old remained fifth overall in the world championship and a point behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who was one of five drivers that failed to finish the race. 

In difficult conditions in Montreal, the Mexican started 16th but hopes of climbing up the pecking order soon faded after damaging his car's front wing on the opening lap when he made contact with Alpine's Pierre Gasly.

He then crashed into the barriers late in the day after losing control on a damp kerb at turn six, hobbling back to the pits with a broken rear wing. 

"I'm very sorry for my team, I let them down today. But we will come back no doubt. There’s a very long way to go," Perez said on social media.

His final incident cost him a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Barcelona, with the stewards punishing him for a breach of the safety rules that require a driver to stop if the car is unsafe.

"The incident was on me, I touched the wet part into turn six and I couldn’t stop the car, I couldn’t touch the brakes," Perez said on Sunday.

"It has been a very tough couple of weekends, we will regroup, keep our heads down and learn from the weekend. We identified a couple of issues after qualifying and they meant we would have qualified a lot higher.

"Hopefully we can be back to our form in Spain and get back to the level we were at earlier in the season. I am confident in that, there are good tracks coming for us."

Perez recently signed a new two-year deal with Red Bull, ending speculation that the world champions will sign free agent Sainz ahead of the new season. 

George Russell secured Mercedes their first podium of the Formula One season at the Canadian Grand Prix, but felt his third-place finish was a missed opportunity.

The British driver was on pole for the first time since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2022 and led for the first 21 laps before being overtaken in quick succession by McLaren's Lando Norris and eventual winner, Max Verstappen. 

In a contest that saw the drivers endure difficult conditions and in which five cars failed to finish, Russell did manage to regain first place from his compatriot on lap 27 following the safety car being deployed, but again found himself chasing Norris after running wide. 

He dropped to fourth behind Oscar Piastri, but would reclaim a podium place with his fresh medium tyres for the closing laps, enough to get past the Australian and team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who were on the hard compounds.

Red Bull's Verstappen claimed his sixth victory of the season, extending his championship lead over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to 56 points after a weekend to forget for the Italian team. 

Speaking after the race, Russell believed he had the pace to catch the Dutchman before his coming together with Piastri, but enjoyed being back at the front of the pecking order despite admitting to a few mistakes. 

"It feels like a missed opportunity, to be honest," said Russell shortly after the conclusion of the race. "We were really quick at the beginning of the race on the inters, and then obviously Lando came through really fast.

"Then we got back on to the slicks, made a couple of mistakes out there just pushing the limits and paid the price for it.

"Nevertheless, first podium of the year and we truly had a really fast car this weekend and to be back in the mix fighting for victory was really fun.

"When we put the mediums on at the end we were really, really fast and I think that mistake with Oscar when I tried overtaking him and I lost the position to Lewis cost us at least P2 and maybe we could have fought with Max later in the race."

Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris to win a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, the lead changing hands on several occasions in wet conditions in Montreal.

Starting second on the grid behind George Russell, Verstappen was passed by Norris in the early stages but managed an expert restart after a safety-car period with 11 laps to go.

Norris took the lead on two separate occasions but was unable to hit back when Verstappen pulled two seconds clear late on, having to settle for his third second-place finish of the season.

An error-strewn performance saw Russell give up the lead and slip into a battle for third with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri.  

Contact between Russell and Piastri allowed Hamilton to surge into third place with five laps remaining, but Russell overtook his team-mate with a neat move at the final chicane on lap 68.

With Hamilton finishing fourth, both Mercedes drivers recorded their best finishes of the season thus far.

The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was sixth, while neither Ferrari managed to finish, Charles Leclerc retiring just past the halfway stage and Carlos Sainz following suit as he collided with Alex Albon's Williams.

Data Debrief: Sixty up for Verstappen

Verstappen's previous two victories in Montreal had come from pole position, but he had to fight his way past Russell and later Norris to make it three straight wins in Canada.

The victory was his 60th in Formula One overall, from 194 races. Among drivers who have achieved at least 25 wins, only Jim Clark (25 – 34.7 per cent) has a higher win ratio than the Dutchman's 30.9 per cent.

George Russell edged out Max Verstappen to claim pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Russell and Verstappen, the reigning Formula One world champion and championship leader, set identical lap times.

Both clocked in at one minute and 12 seconds, but Russell was given the edge as he banked his first. That had not happened in F1 since 1997.

It is a huge boost for Mercedes, who seem to have turned a corner in recent races following some upgrades to their car.

"It's sort of come from nowhere," Russell said after qualifying in Montreal. "But maybe not a surprise with the upgrades we've been bringing.

"We brought these upgrades to Monaco, which has been a really challenging circuit for us in the past, and we were 0.1secs from the front row and we thought going into Montreal we had a shot here.

"It's just turning really nicely through the corners. We struggled a lot with understeer before.

"Last year, we had a lot of oversteer and we've been trying to find the halfway house between what we had last year and what we had this year.

"And it feels like we're sort of dialling in that sweet spot right now. So it feels like something we've been saying for a long time, in all honesty. But you know, just really a sense of relief to actually see it translate into a pole position. [There's] more to come.

"We are the favourite at the moment because we have the fastest car and I was feeling great behind the wheel.

"But there is rain on the horizon and the wind is picking up. We are going to have to be so on our feet. It's a bit of a shame in a way. But I am feeling optimistic."

Verstappen said: "It's how it is. We had a good qualifying. The whole weekend has been still a bit tricky for us but to be P2, I'll take it. Going into qualifying I would have definitely taken that. It makes it more exciting for the race as well."

Russell's team-mate Lewis Hamilton did not have as much luck, as he could only manage seventh place, behind the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Pisastri.

Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate, Sergio Perez, also had a poor session, as he was knocked out in Q3 for the second straight race.

Perez's Red Bull future was confirmed this week, though the team are also keeping on Yuki Tsunoda as back up.

It was a poor day for Ferrari, with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz missing out on the top 10.

Sainz is hoping to claim a top seat for next season, with Hamilton replacing him at Ferrari, but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed that would not be with his team.

"Carlos deserves a top seat," Wolff said. "He's done a fantastic job, but for us we've embarked on a route now.

"We want to reinvent ourselves a little bit going forward and Kimi Antonelli definitely plays a part in that.

"We haven't taken a decision yet for next year but we didn't want to have Carlos wait as well because he needs to take decisions for himself and that's fair, but he's doing a super job."

Max Verstappen admitted it was not an "ideal" start to his Canadian Grand Prix after enduring technical trouble with his car on Friday.

The practice session in Montreal was heavily disrupted by intermittent rain, causing the headline lap times to be effectively meaningless.

However, Verstappen, who was 18th fastest in the second session, suffered a problem with the energy recovery system (ERS) in Practice Two after just four laps, with the Red Bull trailing smoke before returning to the pits.

Red Bull are investigating the cause of the fault ahead of Saturday's qualifying.

"It's not ideal," said Verstappen.

"I would have liked to drive more laps, some other people had a few more laps in the dry and a few more laps in the wet.

"It's definitely not how I would have liked to get on in FP2 but it's more important to figure out what actually happened and what kind of implication it will have for this year and the rest of the year."

Verstappen has won just one of the last three Grand Prix, with Red Bull now holding just a 24-point lead over Ferrari in the championship.

Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes are "not far away" from competing at the front of the grid after implementing upgrades ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.

Mercedes have endured a torrid start to the 2024 season, which will be Hamilton's last with the team before he joins Ferrari for 2025.

Neither Hamilton nor team-mate George Russell have finished higher than fifth in any race, with Russell achieving that finish in the opening race at Bahrain and in Monaco two weeks ago.

The Silver Arrows – who have only won one race since 2021 – introduced a new front wing to Russell's car last time out and were encouraged by his pace. Both cars will be sporting the upgrade in Montreal this weekend.

Asked whether he thought Mercedes could close the gap to constructors' champions and current leaders Red Bull, Hamilton said: "I don't think it's far away.

"We've got the upgrade, both cars have the upgrade this weekend, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that feels on the track."

Max Verstappen initially looked set for another dominant campaign, but recent victories for McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc have led some to suggest we could still see a title battle. 

Hamilton added: "The car's continuing to improve. I think everyone's obviously taking that step, hopefully getting closer to the Red Bulls and I think that's been really positive.

"I'm incredibly proud of everyone back at the factory, how hard everyone's working and how resilient everyone is. Everyone is staying focused, the morale is really great in the team.

"So I'm hoping that we can get closer to these guys and start actually competing at the front."

Hamilton has won the Canadian Grand Prix seven times, a tally only matched by Michael Schumacher. 

His last victory came 53 races ago at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, but a surprise win in Montreal would see him equal his record for most triumphs at a single event (eight in Hungary and Great Britain).

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari have what it takes to beat Red Bull to the F1 championship this year.

Leclerc won at Monaco for the first time in his career last time out, and a double podium for Ferrari in that race means they are just 24 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.

Red Bull have won the constructors' title for the last three years in a row, but this year they could be in a tough battle with Ferrari and McLaren.

Speaking before the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, Leclerc says he has faith that Ferrari mount a good challenge against Red Bull.

"I have to believe it [that Red Bull are beatable], and I believe in it," Leclerc told Sky Sports F1.

"However, let's say that I think the last two races have been not the tracks that favour Red Bull or show their strengths. I don't think that this one is a track that will show their strength either, so it might be an opportunity again for us.

"From Barcelona [the race after Montreal] onwards, I think we will see back the Red Bull that we have seen at the beginning of the year, which, if this is the case, might be more difficult to beat.

"But my hopes remain high. We still have some things that we want to bring to the car, and if that is enough to close the gap, then that's great. And we'll put them under more pressure.

"When you are under a bit more pressure, hopefully, we can push them into more mistakes and take our chances. For now, I don't feel like we are quite there yet. But looking at this weekend, I feel like it can be an opportunity."

Lando Norris, who won the Miami Grand Prix, has tipped Ferrari as the favourites to win in Canada, while Max Verstappen also thinks it will be another tough race after finishing in his lowest position for 18 months in Monaco.

Leclerc, however, is not fazed by those predictions.

"They always say that! Whether it's Helmut [Marko] one weekend, Lando the other," he added.

"Everyone doesn't want to hear they are the favourites, so you are never going to hear me say we are the favourites and same with them.

"I think the reality is we are so closely matched between three teams, that it will be down to the ones who do the better job, as well as the rain will be here, and we haven't really driven here with these cars yet in the rain."