Verstappen: Red Bull “closing in” on best package

Max Verstappen says a key reason behind signing his future to Red Bull Racing was his faith in the team reaching the “best package all round” in F1 but concedes the final touches remain out of reach.

The 20-year-old signed a new three-year deal with Red Bull last October which ties him to the Milton Keynes-based squad until at least the end of 2020 – the joint-longest existing deal on the current F1 grid alongside Sebastian Vettel's at Ferrari.

Verstappen says he has complete faith in the team producing an F1 title-contending car as it seeks the “right package”. While the Dutch driver is confident Red Bull can produce the best car, he’s eager to see the all round package reach the level of his F1 title rivals.

Speculation continues to circle around Red Bull’s existing power unit situation, with its TAG Heuer-branded Renault engines, with a May deadline set to secure a new deal.

Red Bull is believed to be weighing up its engine options by keeping a close eye on Honda’s progress with its sister team Toro Rosso with a potential switch recently mooted, while team principal Christian Horner has also expressed an interest in securing a new partnership with an independent engine supplier having tightened its links to Aston Martin.

“I believe in the team, which is why I signed with them,” Verstappen said. “I believe that they can build the best car out there, we just now need to have the right package.

“At the moment I feel the full package is not quite strong enough, but we are definitely closing in and hopefully sooner rather than later we can have the best package all round.

“I think anyway in Formula 1 there are no guarantees in that way so we just have to wait and see.”

Verstappen’s teammate Daniel Ricciardo says he expects Mercedes to “turn up” for the 2018 F1 opener in Australia despite the German manufacturer predicting a three-way title fight between itself, Ferrari and Mercedes.