Vettel ’not a magician’ - Verstappen

Max Verstappen says he has not been surprised by the early success of Charles Leclerc’s move to Ferrari.

The pair were wheel-to-wheel back in their karting days, with Leclerc (photo) now joining Verstappen in challenging the likes of top F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

But Verstappen said of Leclerc: "I knew how fast he is.

"So I knew that with a good Ferrari Charles would be very strong. And I thought to myself that if Ricciardo could beat Vettel before, then so can Leclerc.

"Vettel is a very good driver, I mean he has won four world titles," Verstappen told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But he is not a magician or anything in my eyes."

The 21-year-old also confirmed his boss Dr Helmut Marko’s news that Red Bull will bring new parts to Barcelona next month to address an aerodynamic problem.

"Bringing new parts between Bahrain and China is not easy, also because of customs issues here," said Verstappen.

"But with the start of the grands prix in Europe, we want to bring many developments and move closer to the top."