Max Verstappen is aiming to bounce back this weekend at the French Grand Prix, after missing out on victory at the team’s home race. Verstappen suffered from tyre degradation at the Red Bull Ring, something he’s hoping the team will have learnt from ahead of this weekend at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
The reigning World Champion holds a thirty-seven point lead going into the twelfth round of the championship, where he’ll be looking to extend his advantage over Charles Leclerc. Should Verstappen win this weekend, then he’ll make it back-to-back victories at the venue, after winning the same round last season.
The Dutchman is aware that he’ll need to look after his tyres this weekend, with temperatures expected to be warm.
“We had a good result last year in France as a Team. The track has a lot of technical and high-speed corners towards the end, so it will be important to look after the tyres, especially considering it’s going to be a very hot weekend. I’m looking forward to another race week where we can hopefully improve on our performance from Austria and learn from our result last time out.”
“I’m still in contention for the Drivers’ Championship” – Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez has suffered three DNFs in the last two races, with his most recent retirement occuring at the recent Austrian Grand Prix. Pérez collected significant damage in the opening lap, as a result of colliding with George Russell at Turn Four. The Mexican was forced into retirement due to the sheer volume of the damage.
Heading into the French GP, Pérez is aware that he “can’t afford” to lose anymore points in the championship, should he wish to remain in the title fight.
“After a tough weekend in Austria, it’s great to be back racing and have a chance to put things right. We have had two DNFs in the past three races and we can’t afford that in the Championships so I’m aiming to change that this weekend in France. I’m still in contention for the Drivers’ Championship, so personally it is also important not to lose any more points. Last year I scored my second podium with the Team in France and I am very looking forward to trying to repeat that.
The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver went well at the circuit last season, where he claimed his second podium for the team. Pérez explained the difficulty in finding the right line at the track, which he labels as “very demanding”.
“Paul Ricard is a challenging track because there are different racing lines you can take through the corners and it’s not easy to know which is the best one to use. The high temperatures will also be a factor to consider this weekend, physically it look like it will be a very demanding race and we will have to see how it goes with the tyre degradation because of the heat.”
