Max Verstappen has said that he is "absolutely" ready to win the world championship in 2017.
There are many who believe that, along with the radically different rules for this year, Red Bull has a real chance of taking the fight to Mercedes in 2017.
While Verstappen is regarded as a star of the future, others think that it is actually Daniel Ricciardo who is the Red Bull driver most ready to immediately win a title.
Yet Verstappen, 19, told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: "Am I ready for the championship? Absolutely.
"I have been ready since my first race in 2015 with Toro Rosso."
Since then, Verstappen has climbed from the midfield to the front, and in 2017 will contest his first full season with Red Bull's premier team.
"If you are in the best car, racing is so much easier," he said.
"If I had already had a good car, I know I would have scored victories for sure," Verstappen, who actually won the Spanish Grand Prix last May, added.
"I have spent the past two seasons learning so much. From crashes to mistakes to wrong pitstops.
"But if you are in the best car, many of those problems go away and everything is a lot easier."
The season kicks off with the Australian Grand Prix in March.
