Hamilton believes Verstappen could be a title contender

Lewis Hamilton has confessed that Max Verstappen of Red Bull could potentially move from the rising star bracket to a true championship contender for the 2018 campaign, but stopped short of naming the Dutchman within the top three favourites to claim the next Formula One title.

Verstappen is widely expected to be a future F1 world champion and is considered to be one of the most promising young driving prodigies to come through the ranks in years. He already has three Grand Prix victories at the age of just 20, including two in this past campaign.

Red Bull suffered plenty of engine reliability issues in 2017 which hampered any unlikely title challenge for Verstappen and his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, but Hamilton expects the former to improve again next season to become an outside contender for the championship.

"He [Verstappen] can be a title contender," Hamilton told Sky Sports.

"His abilities at the core are fantastic and we've all seen that come to light with the great car he's racing in and the great team he's racing in."

Even though Hamilton is clearly a fan of the talents of Verstappen, he went on to name the three drivers whom he believes are favourites for the 2018 title - and the list did not include the young Dutchman.

"I'm hoping McLaren with the new engine on board can hopefully rise from the drought and come back into a positive light and be the great team they are," Hamilton continued.

"Myself, Sebastian [Vettel] and Fernando [Alonso]… that's what's on the top of my mind."