Nico Rosberg believes the championship contenders will be terrified of making mistakes in the opening laps.
He told Sky Sports: “You are just super scared to mess it up yourself with a mistake.
“Like into Turn One, locking it up with the front and crashing then it is the end of your dream.
“Of course, the mechanics are also crazy nervous because they want to be treating both drivers fairly, they don’t want to mess up one pit stop and hand the other driver a championship or something, that would be horrible.
“If you are the mechanic who makes that mistake that would be devastating. So, they are also very on the edge.
“As a team, it is a day where the pressure is maximised. Then you have this Max Verstappen breathing down your neck, the ultimate gladiator who has zero pressure.
“He is such an enormous force today, you don’t really want that as a rival.”