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Max Verstappen wants to put last weekend’s disappointing Bahrain Grand Prix behind him and “bring out a performance similar” to his Japanese Grand Prix victory.
The Dutchman could only take P6 around the Bahrain International Circuit during Sunday’s Grand Prix, finishing over 34 seconds behind race winner Oscar Piastri. After the race, Verstappen’s anger was evident as he said he was “not interested” in a post-race debrief with his team.
After a mediocre weekend for Red Bull Racing in the desert of Sakhir, the Austrian team will hope to turn things around in Saudi Arabia at the street circuit of Jeddah, a circuit that has seen some success for both driver and team since it first came to the calendar in 2021, with Verstappen winning twice, and Red Bull three times around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Verstappen hoping for Japan success in Saudi Arabia
Speaking in Red Bull’s Saudi Arabia preview, Verstappen started by saying: “Bahrain was quite a difficult weekend for us and didn’t really go our way at all. We had some issues that set us back, and we still have a lot of work to do on the car to get us where we need to be.
“However, last year, Jeddah was a good track for us, and it is a proper high-speed semi-street circuit which is fun to drive,” the Dutchman continued.
Street circuits have always been a forte of Red Bull, meaning the potential to bounce back from Bahrain is there, Verstappen believes.
“Typically, there is less tyre degradation at this circuit, so it naturally should be a better race for us. We have a final push with this being the third race and final weekend of the triple header, so hopefully we can find more pace and bring out a performance similar to Japan,” concluded the four-time Formula 1 world champion.
This article was written in collaboration with Estéban den Toom
