Is China a stumbling block for Verstappen? 'I just want to win'

At the Australian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen retired as his RB20 experianced problems, but in Japan, the Dutchman restored order with a P1 finish. This weekend, the Chinese Grand Prix is on the programme, when the Red Bull driver, in a sprint weekend, will have the chance for his fourth win of the Formula 1 season.

Verstappen has never won the Chinese Grand Prix before

Partly due to the long absence of the Chinese Grand Prix, the Shanghai International Circuit is one of the few places where Verstappen has not yet stood on the top step of the podium. In fact, he has only failed to win in China and Singapore on the current calendar.

For Verstappen, that makes little difference to how he prepares for the weekend, the Dutchman explained. "I think the approach is always the same. We always try to win wherever you go. We just didn't come here for a couple of years so I don't really focus too much always on the fact ‘I need to win here, I need to win there’, I just want to win."

Verstappen feels it will be an interesting weekend in China, partly because he hasn't raced there in a long time. "We haven't been here in a couple of years. So it probably also spices it up a little bit more. A bit more unknown things can happen, I guess. Maybe you're not as well prepared. So I guess that's always a bit more interesting for the fans."

Verstappen on the new sprint format

There's a new sprint format this weekend. There are some changes to the parc fermé rules. Verstappen often spoke about his dislike towards the format. "The most annoying bit about it before, was that after FP1, you could go into qualifying, but if you haven’t nailed the setup, you're stuck with it for the rest of the weekend. And that can really hurt your weekend. And I think now, at least, we have a few more opportunities to try and make it perfect. I think that's better for racing overall," the reigning Formula One world champion told reporters.

Even though the three-time world champion has criticised the new sprint format a lot, it does seem to be better than the previous format, according to Verstappen. "Personally, of course, I would have preferred a normal weekend here. But at least now we get to try the new format. Hopefully that already will be better. And I think it will be better than what we had before," he added.