Max Verstappen: “Hopefully we can keep the momentum going” in Spain

Max Verstappen will look to continue his remarkable 2022 run of winning every time he finishes in this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver has won three of the opening five races – as well as the sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – but retired in the other two races in Bahrain and Australia.  He currently sits second in the Drivers’ Championship behind Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

After an ‘incredible’ week racing in Miami last time out, Verstappen is heading to Barcelona, the scene of his maiden Formula 1 victory back in 2016, with a lot of confidence, and he hopes the momentum Red Bull has had in recent races can continue.

“We had an incredible week in Miami, I’ve had some time to rest with my family since and now I’m looking forward to driving in Barcelona again,” said Verstappen.  “I have a lot of good memories at the track from my first win in Formula One back in 2016 when I was 18.

“Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a track that we all know very well as a Team due to amount of testing we have done there over the years, so unlike Miami, we have a substantial amount of data to use ahead of the race.

“Hopefully we can keep the momentum going from the last few races with a clean start from Friday onwards.”

“Max and I will be pushing for a repeat of Imola” – Sergio Pérez

Whereas Verstappen was pleased with his Miami result, team-mate Sergio Pérez was not content with his fourth place, with an issue with a sensor on his engine costing him valuable performance.

Without those issues, Pérez believes he could have beaten both Ferrari drivers, so to leave with a fourth place behind Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. left him frustrated.

“Miami was a crazy week for us all and, while Max got the win and I collected important points, I didn’t leave satisfied,” said Pérez.  “I always want to be on the podium and I knew I had the pace to beat the Ferraris so I was frustrated.”

Since Miami, the Mexican has welcomed son Emilio into the family, and Pérez is looking to get a good result to honour his birth.  And he believes he can be up there fighting with Verstappen and the Ferrari’s this weekend.

“If I can have a consistent weekend in the car then I know I can be up there and Max and I will be pushing for a repeat of Imola,” he said.  “Since Miami I have had a new baby, Emilio, so it would be amazing to welcome him to the world with a great result.

“We know the track in Barcelona very well because of pre-season testing so we know what to expect but the car we tested in February is very different from the car we are now driving, in a good way, and it will be interesting to see gains we have made since then.”

Sergio Pérez believes he can fight for the podium this weekend in Spain – Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images