Max Verstappen reckons that Red Bull would be unstoppable in Formula 1 if they had Mercedes power units.
Despite winning four world titles with Renault, Red Bull has been frustrated with the French manufacturer in recent seasons. Their current contract expires at the end of 2018 and will not be renewed.
Last season, Verstappen was hit by reliability issues. The Renault engine was also lacking in power compared with its main Mercedes- and Ferrari-powered rivals.
Even so, Verstappen took two wins in 2017 in Malaysia and Mexico. His team mate Daniel Ricciardo was also victorious in Baku. Verstappen is sure they could have won even more - and competed for the title - if they'd had a Mercedes unit.
"I think that if we had a Mercedes engine in the back, they would never see us again!" the Dutch driver told Motorsport.com.
"Ours just isn't that stable compared to what Mercedes and Ferrari have," he admitted.
Verstappen conceded that there were no quick fixes to the problems that Renault had experienced last season.
"It has to do with several things. Otherwise they would have solved it a long time ago, of course."
And nor was Red Bull's disappointing start to 2017 entirely down to the engine.
"They thought about going for a low drag configuration, but for some reason it just didn't work out," he explained. "Maybe it was a bit too optimistic.
"But you've seen that the team can turn things around very quickly," he added, looking on the bright side.
"Of course, by then your season is already lost," he added. "But it does give you confidence for the future that it can go in the right direction."
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