Verstappen vs Lewis "exciting" for Formula 1, but don't forget Bottas - Wolff

Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff believes a battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen would be "very exciting" for Formula 1 but has warned against discounting Valtteri Bottas.

Wolff believes Red Bull and Verstappen pose a genuine threat for both the drivers' and constructors' championship titles after taking victory in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

The Mercedes boss said: "I think for Formula 1, it would be very exciting. But also for us as a team. We embrace the challenge and we love to fight.

"They are a strong competitor and Max is a good driver. If you consider that they had a full DNF at the beginning of the season, that gap is not large, they would only be five points behind and not 30.

"We are up for a fight and it looks like this will be a tough season."

Although much of the focus is on Hamilton and Verstappen, Wolff has urged people not to discount Valtteri Bottas from the title race.

Finishing third at Silverstone, Bottas dropped to third in the standings with Verstappen heading in the opposite direction.

Wolff added: "I wouldn't write off Valtteri. There is maybe 10 more races to go. DNF's can quickly make the points swing and it could be much more interesting than many people were afraid of two weeks ago."

Related

Latest F1 News

F1 star reveals how Verstappen and Hamilton rivalry influenced key decision

• 2 hours ago

Lewis Hamilton

F1 team boss sends Hamilton bad news of even larger Mercedes decline

• Today 11:57