Verstappen is aiming for revenge: "We should do better"

Max Verstappen experienced a disappointing opening race in Bahrain last weekend. The Dutchman was driving in second place when he encountered fuel pump problems and unexpectedly had to retire from the race. In Saudi Arabia, however, he is keen to do better. In doing so, he also hopes for a better set-up for the RB18.

In the free practice sessions, everything seemed to be going smoothly for Red Bull Racing. The speed was there and about the balance Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez had little to complain. On Sunday, however, things were different and that resulted in a frequent complaining Verstappen over the on-board radio. The reigning world champion hopes to avoid the same scenario as last week.

RB18 was a bit disappointing

"I expected more," said Verstappen in the press conference broadcast on Sky Sports about the car's set-up in Bahrain. However, Red Bull has not been idle in recent days and they are confident that things will improve at the second Grand Prix of the year."We have our reasons for that so we'll try to do better here," he said. According to the 24-year-old driver, it is an advantage that he more or less finished the race, giving Red Bull access to a lot of data.

That things need to improve for the cars with Red Bull/Honda engines is clear. Verstappen argues that grabbing a lot of points in the first phase of the season is crucial to his chances of a second world championship. "It wasn't too good that we had three cars retire. That shouldn't happen. If we want to contend for the title we have to do better than that."

Verstappen on following

With Charles Leclerc, Verstappen fought a bitter duel for the lead in the race at the Bahrain International Circuit. It was the first time for the Limburger to really test the impact the new rules have had on racing in 2022. Verstappen says he is pleased, but states that it is still a bit early to draw any definitive conclusions.

"Well I think it [the following] was a tiny bit better, but I don’t think Bahrain is the best example because of tyres overheating. You’re following for like two laps and they just start sliding too much, even if you can follow a little bit better. So I think there’ll be some other tracks where the deg of the tire is a little bit lower so for sure you’ll be able to follow longer, but I guess I do like it. We did get to follow little bit better which is why we fought for 2-3 laps" he sounds positive.