Max Verstappen is confident he and Red Bull will “come back stronger” after F1’s upcoming summer break. Verstappen is going through a difficult period in his journey to defend his championship title as he has failed to win any of the last three grand prix events, this is his longest winning drought. him since the end of the 2021 season.
The final race in Hungary was particularly problematic for the three-time F1 champion as he finished fifth, mainly because his RB20 did not have enough speed to match the leading McLaren, but also due to a late-race collision with arch-rival Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes.
For this weekend’s final race before F1’s summer hiatus in Belgium around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit which he insists has “always been” his “favourite track”, it looks like Verstappen will definitely subject to motor penalty.
The 26-year-old will at least have support from Spa’s “fast corners and plenty of overtaking opportunities”, as well as a large orange-clad fan base as he looks to get good results and forget Go what happened at the Hungaroring. “Hungary was a difficult race and a weekend to forget moving forward,” said Verstappen.
“We have worked as a team to optimize our performance and get the most out of the car. Of course, the weather makes things a little more unpredictable but we will watch the race What does it bring? “The team has been working very hard and as this is the last race before the summer break we are looking forward to taking a well-deserved rest and coming back stronger. “This weekend we will try to deliver the best possible result.”
Perez reveals all that matters to him
Teammate Sergio Perez is also under pressure to perform but for different reasons after a series of poor results when scoring only 21 points in the last seven grand prix events.
Perez at least had the momentum to recover in Budapest after his most recent crash in qualifying, finishing seventh after starting 16th. However, the Mexican admits he needs to perform fully this weekend to ensure internal discussions about his future in the summer go in his favour.
“The recovery we achieved on Sunday in Hungary is very positive,” he said. “I think that shows how comfortable I was in the car throughout the weekend and the potential we have. “It’s a shame we couldn’t get a podium position because we were capable of achieving the performance we showed, the last race was very promising. “Now I have to focus on the whole weekend in Belgium and I believe we can do it. There’s only one race left before the summer break and I want to repay my team for last weekend with a result good. They are all that matters to me.”
