Max Verstappen certainly wasn't opposed to the idea of Nico Hulkenberg joining him at Red Bull in 2021.

The German was named as a possible alternative to Alex Albon for next season by team advisor Helmut Marko, this following his strong stand-in appearance for Lance Stroll at the Eifel Grand Prix.

Verstappen himself has also spoken highly of Hulkenberg, claiming he deserves a place on the Formula 1 grid.

But what about if that place was across the garage from the Dutchman?

“Of course I can’t say anything from my side,” Max told German broadcaster RTL. “But Nico is a great guy.

“What he did at the Nürburgring was great. I think he would be a good teammate, but it is not my decision!”

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Ahead of the Portuguese GP, Verstappen was also asked about the admission from main rivals Mercedes that they had stopped development on their 2020 car "a long time ago".

“From our side, I think it's important that we just keep learning about this car because we can't really change a lot for next year,” he told Formula1.com, dismissing any worries. 

“So whatever we do and learn now on the car we have will also be better for us next year.

"Whatever Mercedes does for sure will work for them, but maybe doesn't work for us, so we'll just keep on pushing and we'll find out of course next year where we all stand.”

Switching focus to this weekend at Portimao, and after Verstappen came the closest he has so far to defeating Mercedes in qualifying at the Nurburgring, he hopes a brand new circuit could shake up the order.

“Again here, it's a track we haven't been to, so we'll have to look again how competitive we're going to be,” he said.

“But balance-wise, I think the car felt a little bit more connected [at the last race] – which of course is always a nice feeling.”