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Red Bull's Max Verstappen has revealed his confidence of being able to beat current champion Lewis Hamilton but assured it could only be done if he had a capable car.
Verstappen and Red Bull edged ever closer to challenging Hamilton and Mercedes throughout 2019, having beat Hamilton to the victory in Brazil and to pole position in Mexico until he was penalised for ignoring yellow flags.
MORE: Chandhok: Closed door at Mercedes behind Verstappen's Red Bull extension
"Lewis is very good. He is definitely one of the best out there but he is not God. Maybe God is with him, but he is not God," Verstappen told BBC Sport. "It is very car-dependent, of course."
"When you can put the pressure on, of course, it is a lot harder for the guy in the lead. If you never really have pressure, you can drive at 97-98% and you never make mistakes, or maybe one weekend out of 21-22.
"Even if we start within 0.2secs, you can really mount the pressure and I would like to start straight away there because then it is really on."
Red Bull confident of a promising start to 2020
With little change in regulations and with Honda ever-improving with its power unit, Verstappen hopes that the team can start strong into the new season and continue on the promising form that the team finished with at the end of 2019.
Verstappen explained his eagerness to get the new season started also but assured that nothing can be for definite until the season gets underway.
"We have to wait and see in winter testing but I am very much looking forward to it. Everyone is very fired up and motivated, especially coming off the end of last year." Verstappen commented.
"If you looked at Brazil, we just raced hard and very cleanly. From my side, I know I race hard but it is because I always want to try to get the best result out of it, and I have always done so.
"But when you fight for a title it is a different mentality. We were not in that fight so you know you have a few races when you can possibly win so you try everything to win that."
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C. Sainz jr
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calle.itw
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It all depends on a lot of factors. Truth is, Charles wasn't in a good car either, and already after one season he beat Vettel. I'd definitely say Charles is a good candidate, especially over a season. Max is really fast, and I feel he has gotten more consistent, so provided he gets the car, he i... [Read more]