Verstappen confirms changes to his RB20 for Austin
On the back of an encouraging Singapore Grand Prix, reigning world champion Max Verstappen has confirmed that his team will arrive in Austin for this weekend's United States Grand Prix with a raft of changes to his RB20.
Max Verstappen has rendured a series of tough races recently, having been unable to win a race since the Spanish Grand Prix that took place in June.
The Dutch driver finished second last time out at the Singapore Grand Prix, but he still ended the race a frightening 23 seconds behind his title rival Lando Norris. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner had promised after the Singapore round that his team would work hard on the RB20 to reduce the performance gap to the field-leading MCL28.
Speaking of his chances, Verstappen has confirmed the changes to his car: "We have had a few weeks away from racing, giving us time to refocus and to work hard on our performance ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
"We have made some changes to the car to hopefully better suit this circuit, so will see if this makes us more competitive when we head out on track. This week will be another hectic Sprint race, with a lot planned over the weekend.
"Austin is a really cool city and the atmosphere at the track is like no other. I will be back in my US helmet for this race, which is a tribute to the passionate fans here and features the skyline of all three US cities that we are racing in. We have a lot of good memories here, so we are looking forward to heading back and racing there this week."
His team-mate Sergio Perez displayed a slightly improved pace at Baku and at Singapore before the field headed to the four-week break. Speaking of the forthcoming weekend, the Mexican labelled the Texan track as one of its favourites.
"It feels like we have had a long time away from racing! It’s nice to be back and to be heading to one of our favourite races of the season. It’s a special race for me, everyone jokes I have so many home races, but Austin always feels like one for me and the support is really nice.
The six-time F1 race winner continued: "I have been training hard back home in Mexico and in regular touch with the Team back in the UK. We are looking to come into Austin in a better place with the car, we have made some changes in the break, aimed at improving the pace and we will see how competitive we are in Austin.
"It being a Sprint race makes things a little tricky, because we have one practice session to get the car right before it counts but that’s where working as a Team comes in and that’s what we excel at," concluded Perez.
