Defending Formula One world champion Max Verstappen says that he and his Oracle Red Bull Racing team learned a lot over the course of pre-season testing in Barcelona and Bahrain as they prepare for this weekend’s 2022 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit.
Red Bull Racing have shown solid pace during pre-season testing as Formula One prepares to usher in a new era in the sport with new-look cars with regulations that were developed in the hope of increasing overtaking opportunities and speaking ahead of the race this weekend the Dutch driver said:
“We learnt a lot at testing in Barcelona and Bahrain, I’m very excited to turn our attention to racing now, it’s a whole new era for the sport and anything can happen. The focus is to bring the grid together and make it easier to follow, I hope we see that in the first race. Everything is so new so there are a lot of unknowns heading into the first race of the season. I’m looking forward to seeing where we are compared to the rest of the grid come qualifying on Saturday. The car looks good and as a Team we are in a good place. The most important thing for us in Bahrain is to have a stable weekend without too many issues and we hope to score a good amount of points.”
Verstappen is once again joined at the Oracle Red Bull Racing team by Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez who is looking forward to returning to the scene of his maiden Formula One victory in 2020.
“I am looking forward to the new season, automatically you feel more settled going into your second year with a team. I feel more prepared because I now know exactly how the Team operate and the Oracle Red Bull Racing philosophy, so that makes a difference. Every team is in the same position starting the season, in that we don’t know the car as much because of the shakeup in regulations but we had a really good test, both in Bahrain and Barcelona. It will be interesting to see where everyone is come Sunday when the flag comes down and I think it will make for a good race. I am very excited for 2022 and I know the important thing is that I am consistent throughout the year – I am up for the fight.”