Verstappen rejects Racing Point as potential title contender

Max Verstappen dismissed Racing Point as a potential contender to steal the world crown from Mercedes this year, the Dutchman insisting that "those who copy" will always be behind.

The impressive performance of Lawrence Stroll's team is perhaps the least of Verstappen's worries given the disappointing pace of Red Bull's RB16 that left him P7 on the Hungarian Grand Prix grid, while teammate Alex Albon will lineup a lowly 13th on Sunday.

Racing Point's drivers by contrast will start their race from the second row with Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez confirming in Hungary the remarkable performance level of their RP20 'pink Mercedes'.

• 'Clearly something is not working,' admits Verstappen

Verstappen remains unimpressed however, brushing off the Silverstone-based squad as a championship contender.

"No, they will never be in the title fight," he said, quoted by RaceFans.net. "Compared to Mercedes, no.

"They are like a second behind Mercedes, so no. If you copy, you will always be behind."

Verstappen wasn't surprised by Racing Point's pace in Hungary, but the 22-year-old is still expecting to race on equal par with Perez and Stroll in Sunday's race.

"Well, last year Mercedes was also very fast," he said. "So it’s quite normal that you are fast.

"But they did a good job and we did a very bad job. So we just need to see what we can do. It’s going to be close I think.

"We're not starting on the better tyre for the race, but it is what it is," Verstappen shrugged. "The pace [of all teams] is all really close, so we have to wait and see.

"I’ll try to do the best I can and see where we end up, but of course it's going to be quite tricky to overtake here anyway."

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