Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says he expects Red Bull-Honda to be a potent threat in 2021 with the Japanese marque set to “give it a big go” in its final season.
Mercedes last weekend secured enough of a buffer over distant rival Red Bull to claim the Constructors’ Championship for a seventh straight year while either Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas will be Drivers’ champion.
Mercedes has taken all 13 pole positions on offer this year and has won 11 races, with the remain two split equally between Red Bull and fellow Honda-powered outfit AlphaTauri.
Honda will withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of 2021 but has outlined the target of challenging for the championship with a new power unit.
“We always worry,” said Wolff on the threat posed by Red Bull.
“You can say that this season was probably our strongest and the biggest gap [we had and] there was rarely more than three cars in front.
“Max [Verstappen] is doing a fantastic job, he’s probably driving better than the car is actually capable of bringing.
“It’s like a déjà vu every weekend, you have the three amigos in front, and he is holding on with his fingertips to the Mercedes [cars].
“Honda is going to give it a big go I guess in its last season and everyone at Red Bull will be motivated, last but not least Max.”
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