Hakkinen: Mercedes should be worried

Former McLaren legend Mika Hakkinen thinks Red Bull currently hold an advantage over Mercedes in the fight for both the 2021 F1 Drivers' and Constructor's championships.

With Red Bull winning the last three races, the Mercedes team find themselves trailing their adversaries after comfortably leading both championships after the first four races of the season. With the next two races scheduled to take place at the Red Bull Ring (Red Bull's home circuit) Hakkinen thinks Mercedes should be very concerned about losing further ground in the championship.

"The team will now be worried that, with the next two Grands Prix at Red Bull’s home event in Austria, they risk falling further behind in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships," Hakkinen said on his Unibet column.

"Lewis has not won the Austrian Grand Prix since 2016, while Max and Valterri have both won twice in recent years. The Silver Arrows are going to have to respond strongly in order to avoid Max adding further victories to his impressive season. The pressure is on."

The Finn also alluded to Red Bull having a better car highlighting how the RB16B has been quick on a variety of circuits.

"Red Bull have won four Grands Prix this year, while Mercedes have taken three," Hakkinen explained.

"In reality, Max should have won at least one more, so while we can say that the Mercedes remains a very competitive race car, Red Bull is really delivering strong, consistent performances across different types of track."

Verstappen currently leads Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship by 12 points while Red Bull leads Mercedes by a margin of 37 points.