Verstappen sees big gap in championship: 'We'll look at it race by race'

There is work to be done for Red Bull Racing. After three Grands Prix they have no less than three DNF's to their name. As a result, the arrears in both championships have already increased enormously. This weekend in Imola Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez get the chance to make up some ground. With a sprint race there are more points to earn than in a normal weekend.

Last year there were three three sprint races and this year Imola is the first of three Grands Prix where a sprint race is part of the race weekend. According to Verstappen, FP1 will therefore be more important than ever, he explained in Red Bull's preview. "I’m looking forward to racing again this weekend in Imola, this is obviously the first sprint race of the year so it’s important to make the most of the first practice session, so we have a good understanding of where the set up needs to be for qualifying on Friday."

Lots of work done in Milton Keynes

In Australia, the Dutchman dropped out with a fuel line problem. Heading into Imola, however, all those problems appear to have been resolved and so the reigning world champion can start his weekend in Italy without worry. Last year he won the race, which started as a wet race and then quickly dried up. This season, winning will again be the goal.

"The Team trackside and back at the factory in Milton Keynes are working incredibly hard, hopefully we’ll have a straightforward weekend and that we score some good points as a Team. For now, we’ll take it race by race and we’ll see where we end up."