Lewis Hamilton says Max Verstappen is in the ideal situation to continue his Formula 1 development at Red Bull and is confident the Dutch driver will♎ become a 🉐future world champion.

The reigning F1 world champion has been impressed by Verstappen’s r🗹apid rise through the ranks despite only turning 20 last September and has relished the Red Bull driver’s battles at the sharp-end of the grid since stepping up to the Milton Keynes-based squad midway through 2016.

Hamilton believes Verstappen is well set to continue hi🅷s quick development in F1 at Red Bull, having recently re-signed with the team until the end of the 2020 season, and has tipped him as a f🌠uture F1 world champion.

“He definitely haওs the potential to be a world champion as we’ve all seen that and that is why he has such a great following,” Hamilton said. “We’ve seen the way he drives and he has great potential and is in a great team. I thi💖nk he is in the perfect place to continue growing.

“He has a long time ahead of him even with a good few sea🌳sons under hiඣs belt. I still hadn’t even had my first season at 20 so he is even further ahead than me and a lot of the drivers.

“While I’m here I am going to be doing what I can to stop him winning. People won’t particularly love that but that is what we are here to do, we are here to battle and I am looking forward to having some re✤ally positive battles with him – hopefully this year.”

Verstappen became the youngest F1൲ race winner when he clinched a dramatic victory at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix – on his Red Bull Racing debut – and still has three years to beat Sebastian Vettel’s record as the youngest F1 world champion when the German clinched the 2010 world title aged 23 years and 134 days.