Max Verstappen puts Suzuka behind him: “Bahrain will be a tough race, I’ll push to the limit”. Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda share their thoughts ahead of the Bahrain GP.

Max Verstappen heads to Bahrain
After making headlines with his sensational performance at Suzuka, Max Verstappen has turned the page and is already thinking about Bahrain. Sakhir is a much more “standard” and less challenging circuit compared to the Japanese one, which highlighted Super Max’s talent, and once again this weekend, the McLaren cars are strong favorites. Max Verstappen knows this, but he’s not defeated; in fact, he says he wants to push to the limit to maximize the potential of the RB21 once again.

Max Verstappen’s words
“Winning in Japan was an incredible moment for the team and a perfect farewell to Honda, with whom we’ve had a great relationship and many successes over the years. It’s amazing to have four consecutive wins at Suzuka, and it was a great start to this triple-header. It was a great boost for the team, and now we can approach this week with a bit more confidence,” said the Dutch driver.

“In Bahrain, we did well; the track is technical, and we race at night, which makes everything different. It will be hot, and I think it will be a tough race for us,” he added. “There are still things to improve on the car: we’re still working on tire management, and we’re missing a bit of pace, so we’ll need to work hard and constantly push the car to the limit. However, I always enjoy going there, so I’m looking forward to seeing what this week will bring, and I hope we can maximize the car’s performance as best as we can.”

Yuki Tsunoda’s words
Teammate Yuki Tsunoda has to redeem himself after a disappointing debut weekend with Red Bull: “I’m looking forward to Bahrain and having time to focus fully on racing with my team. I really enjoyed having my home race, but I’m equally excited about having a quieter week in Bahrain to get familiar with the car, work properly with my team, and settle in at Red Bull. I learned a lot during the Suzuka weekend; now I understand the RB21 much better and also how the team operates in ways different from what I was used to. Now it’s up to me to put everything into practice and get the most out of this car. Bahrain is a track we know well, and the conditions will be completely different from Japan, so I need to get comfortable quickly and ensure qualifying goes well this week. I believe that if I can better understand our tire preparation, I’ll be able to place the car in a better position for the GP. I hope to get the points and performance I know we’re capable of.”