Max Verstappen said he could be 'unstoppable' in Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton stunt

Ex-F1 driver Anthony Davidson has claimed Max Verstappen's straight-line speed in the Red Bull car could make him 'unstoppable' against rivals Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at the French Grand Prix. The Dutchman led the way in the last practice session thanks to his first reference in medium tires of 1m 32.808s.

Verstappen was 0.354 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz in second who will fall to the back of the grid due to engine penalties, with Leclerc's other Ferrari three tenths clearer in third. Hamilton finished fourth, with Mercedes team-mate George Russell fifth, but both were a close second behind the reigning world champion.

Red Bull are hoping to end Ferrari's two-game winning streak, and Davidson thinks they could do just that. "If Red Bull has been able to engineer and maintain the speed they had yesterday in the long runs, and still continue the short ones, then they are somehow unstoppable," Davidson told Sky Sports F1. “But you never know this year. It's top to bottom, top to bottom, whatever you want.

"You win trophies and you spray champagne on Sunday afternoon. It's not just about qualifying. Ferrari learned that in Austria and I think they put that into practice here too Sunday is where they want to do well."

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Johnny Herbert has suggested that Leclerc and Ferrari may have opted for a different strategy than Red Bull, but Verstappen's side have improved in one area. "Red Bull's handling has definitely improved," Herbert said. "So I think that's definitely an important factor, straight-line speed is something that's going to be important today but even more important tomorrow. Ferrari, have they gone for this strategy of patience for tomorrow?" /p>

Leclerc is 38 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship and has been warned he could fall further behind due to reliability issues that continue to plague Ferrari. Paul di Resta thinks they could be hit with grid penalties for new parts if parts keep breaking.

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