Button: Verstappen needs to be in the title race this year

Red Bull begin a new era with Honda, knowing they will have a great chassis and now praying that their Japanese partner have found a posse of reliable horses hidden in their PU package over the winter.

Verstappen is not known to be one that minces his words as Renault will testify and right now, during the honeymoon period, the mutual back-slapping has been impressive as Red Bull and their driver only have kind words for their new partner.

How long that lasts, if Honda does not deliver on expectations, only time will tell...

Speaking to Sky Sports, Button said, "It's tricky with Max. He's always moving forward and he's always looking for something else. He jumps into a Red Bull and he wins his first race."

"This year is a really important year for him to keep it moving. He has to be fighting for the championship or l think he will start asking questions about where he should be in the future."

"There are so many changes in the sport at the moment and that's exactly what the sport needs. I think we will have three teams battling at the front and, if we do, there will be some fantastic fights."

Button, who is the reigning Autobacs GT Super GT Champion along with Naoki Yamamoto driving the Team Kunimitsu Honda NSX-GT, believes that three strong teams capable of winning races is what Formula 1 needs, while Verstappen as a challenger will serve to fire-up reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

Button said of his former teammate, "Knowing Lewis, it won't be about trying to better what Michael has done. Things are changing in F1 and there are new challenges and that's what he loves."

"It's when the challenges stop that you think: you know what, I'm going to do something else. But with the F1 is, with the regulation changes and the driver changes, he will want to keep going, which is fantastic for the sport," added the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion.