Max confident: "We want to perform better in Bahrain"

Published on 05 April 2018 by Raymond Snip

In Bahrain, the host of the second race of the Formula 1 Championship, Max Verstappen looks back at the first Grand Prix in Australia. "In Australia our car worked well all weekend. I left the country with a good feeling. We were competitive in Melbourne and we’ll try our best again in Bahrain. Hopefully the straights won’t hurt us too much, then we have a good chance. I have confidence in the car."

The temperature can increase considerably in the oil state. The Dutch Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver explains how this affects the tires. "Looking back at last year, when the tires were a bit stiffer than they are now, the competition struggled with the degradation of the tires. We’ll have to wait and see in how this will pan out with the new cars on this track."

The first and third free practice sessions will be conducted in the middle of the day, while the other sessions take place during dusk. What do these different conditions mean for the preparations? "Prior to qualifying, only the second free practice is very useful. During the other two free practice sessions you can try out some little things, but at the end of the day, that’s not the car balance you’re going to run in qualifying or in the race, so that’s tricky", explains Max.

"Hopefully the second session will be good for us. It can turn out positive or negative, but normally that limitation does not make a big difference in useful time. The same is true in Singapore and Abu Dhabi and we know how to handle that." Max concludes: "We want to perform better here in Bahrain than during the first race, but that will not be very difficult."

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