Hamilton and Vettel think Verstappen will be able to play the title in 2019 Now

Max Verstappen ended the Formula 1 season Sunday in fourth place in the World Cup standings, but Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel believe that the Red Bull Racing driver in 2019 can achieve a shot at the world title. "Max drove well all year long and showed that he was still able to perform," Mercedes driver Hamilton said at the press conference Sunday after the Grand Prix. Abu Dhabi

"If Red Bull Racing does its job and gives Max the means to reduce the gap with Mercedes and Ferrari, he will certainly compete in the world title fight next season."

Verstappen had a somewhat changeable start to the season but was able to finish after the summer break. to repack. The Limburger finished third in Abu Dhabi and went on the podium for the fifth time in a row.

In the nine Grands Prix that followed the summer break, Verstappen never even finished out of the top five, with his victory in Mexico last month as the absolute highlight

"Verstappen has all the ingredients in-house "

Vettel is also impressed by the progress made by Verstappen this season. The Ferrari driver, who saw Hamilton win his fifth world title this year, thinks the 21-year-old Dutchman no longer needs his advice.

"He has all the ingredients to perform at the top." There are some drivers who have this and Max is certainly one of them, he has shown that meanwhile, "says Vettel, who came second to Abu Dhabi.

" For participate in the summit, it is important to All season and I think Red Bull is very very strong, they have improved the car more than any other team this year and so are very competitive. "

Verstappen took third place in Abu Dhabi, fourth in the Mercedes Valtteri Bottas World Cup standings and achieved the best result of his career.In 2015, he finished 12th in the World Cup standings. world, in 2016 he finished fifth and last year, Verstappen had to settle for sixth place.