Verstappen targets good baseline setup for the Red Bull Ring

After taking his seventh victory of 2024 last time out at Barcelona, championship runaway leader Max Verstappen targets to start this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix with a good baseline setup as the sprint format will only provide drivers with a single practice session.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen had to work hard for his latest victory at Barcelona last Sunday as he was chased down by McLaren's Lando Norris in the closing stages of the race.

The Dutchman hopes that Red Bull can mimic its performance level from last year when Verstappen could secure a dominant forth victory at the Red Bull Ring.

“We always feel really welcome and enjoy coming back to Austria, being a home race for Red Bull. The scenery and mountains around here are great and it is always good to see the Orange Army fans here and really feel that support from the grandstand.

“It is another Sprint race this weekend, which always ends up being a hectic and busy weekend for us.

"It is really important to nail the set up of the car straight away and analyse how best we build and improve on our previous races, especially as qualifying is always close here.

“The track lends itself to a lot of overtaking so I’m sure it will be an exciting race. The Team performed well here last year so hopefully we can do the fans proud this weekend and bring it home with another win," concluded Verstappen.

His team-mate Sergio Perez endured another difficult weekend last time out at Barcelona. The Mexican was unable to keep up with the pace of his team-mate in qualifying, and with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes having stepped up their game, he ended up eighth on the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The six-time F1 race winner then received a three-place grid drop penalty for an incident in Montreal which saw him line up in P11 on the grid. Although he was able to gain a few places with a three-stop strategy, he ended the 66-lap race in a disappointing P8.

Speaking of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, Perez has clear goals: "I had a difficult weekend in Spain but it’s one we have learnt from.

"I struggled with the balance of the car all weekend. We couldn’t get the set-up consistent and in a window for qualifying or to the race we wanted, the grid place penalty also harmed us.

"This weekend in Austria we have everything in place to have a cleaner weekend, the Team and I know where we must improve and make changes and we will implement them. It’s then my job to get the most out of the car, we’ll have limited running due to the Sprint weekend, so I need to make the most of first practice and attack qualifying and the Sprint from the start.

"We want and need a complete weekend. Austria is always a great race, it’s Red Bull’s home and that makes for a brilliant atmosphere, I’m looking forward to it," conlcuded Perez.