Verstappen gives McLaren and Ferrari hope: 'Won't be like the early season'

Competitors are apprehensive about Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen ahead of the Spanish GP. Whereas in Imola, Monaco and Canada, Red Bull Racing were under great pressure from their rivals, everyone expects Red Bull to come out much stronger in Barcelona. Carlos Sainz, for instance, already made the comparison with races in Bahrain and China at the start of the season. Races that were dominated by Red Bull.

Verstappen looks ahead to the Spanish Grand Prix

"I don't think it will be like the beginning of the season," Verstappen said about his performance in Spain. "Normally, this is a track that should suit our cars. We're excited of course, I'm aware that everyone has been catching up a lot so everyone is confident. But if you compare this to the last few races that we have done, this should be a better track."

Verstappen, therefore, finds it difficult to assess how big Red Bull's advantage is on a 'normal' circuit. "People are constantly improving and sometimes you just have a better weekend than others with the way you set up the car. Because at the end of the day, you can bring upgrades, but you have to get the setup right. Look at F2. Same car, but there's still a big difference in teams and operations as such so also there you can make mistakes. That's what we need to get right. Normally, like I said, naturally this car should suit the track a bit better but still we need to make sure that it's in the right balance."

According to Verstappen, there is no increased pressure on the team as the competition approaches. "It's not tension, we always want to do well and we also know that other people are pushing flat out so we just need to have a good weekend like we always want to have it," concluded Verstappen.