Verstappen for five
Fresh from six wins and two second places in eight races and since 224 consecutive laps spent in the lead in the last three and a half GPs, Max Verstappen is ready to land in Austria. The Red Bull Ring – home track for his team – is perhaps the favorite hunting ground in the entire calendar for the reigning world champion, who has already achieved four victories and seven podiums in ten races. However, the champion from Hasselt does not have a full belly and wants to avenge the defeat suffered in 2022 by Charles Leclerc, in what remains the last victory obtained by Ferrari to date.
A further stimulus for the #1 is then represented by the Saturday sprints. The only short race held so far in the championship was won in Baku by Sergio Perez, and it’s not difficult to imagine that Verstappen wants to equalize the score. “This is the second Sprint weekend of the season – commented the championship leader – and it’s always more frenetic and complex than a normal race. The weather also seems a bit unpredictable – warned the Dutchman – so surely there will be some confusion. Austria is our home race and I can’t wait to see all the fans. We always enjoy coming back here and are excited to try and add another trophy to the team’s collection“.
Perez looking for redemption
Those on the home circuit of the bulls will have to go to the ransom quest And Sergio Perez. The Mexican is back from three consecutive races without a podium and he saw significantly reduce the margin of advantage over Fernando Alonso in the championship, who chases her second position trailing by only nine lengths. It will therefore be imperative for Checo to reverse this negative trend on a track where, however, he has never even been on the podium in his career.
“I know how important it is for me to have a consistent weekend and get a good result Perez said. and I know I can. The weather could be difficult and this is also a Sprint weekend, so the time available for setting up the car will be minimal. We will have to make the most of every moment to prepare the car. I had enjoyed the last Sprint weekend in Baku, but this is a very different circuit. I want to do the same thing again, but I know I have to step up to do it“.
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