Max Verstappen: “Making the most of the first Free Practice session”

To Max Verstappen, the defense of his world title did not start under the best auspices, despite his victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The two other rounds contested this season, namely Bahrain and Melbourne, ended in retirements while the Dutch driver appeared on the podium each time.

“I do not accept the situation, declared the world champion after the Australian Grand Prix. We have to work. A delay of 46 points is already a huge gap. What we need is a car that's faster than Ferrari, but we don't have it at the moment. It's going to be complicated, but that's how it is. I cannot change this situation. It’s up to the team to make things change. »

“The whole weekend was negative: the pace in the race was not good at all and I couldn't fight with Charles because my tires were destroyed quickly. There was too much graining on the rubbers. We would not have won the Grand Prix but finishing second would have brought back quite a few points. We must ensure that this does not happen again. » After this second retirement in three races, the driver Red Bull is only in sixth place in the championship, 46 units behind the leader Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

Max Verstappen: “The whole team is working hard”

With Australia behind him, the Dutchman hopes to take advantage of the first sprint race of the season at Imola, the fourth round of the year, to make up part of his deficit. Especially since the new points system will now reward the first eight, with eight points offered to the winner at the end of the 100 kilometers, compared to three in 2021. To hope to win them, it will first be necessary to capitalize on the single session of Free Practice available before the qualifying session, which will determine the grid for this sprint race.

“I’m looking forward to racing again this weekend at Imola, welcomes Verstappen. This is obviously the first sprint race of the year, so it is important to make the most of the first practice session, in order to fully understand where adjustments need to be made for Friday's qualifying. »

“The whole team is working incredibly hard on the track and at the factory in Milton Keynes, we hope we have an easy weekend and score some good points as a team. For now, we'll take things race by race and see where we are. » Another setback would put the world champion in an even more difficult situation to retain his crown.

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