Verstappen eyes a strong start to his F1 title defence

World champion Max Verstappen hopes to continue in 2023 where he left off in 2022 with a strong start to the season.

The Dutchman won 15 of the 22 races last season as he cruised to the crown, while his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez claimed two wins as the RB18 became one of the most successful cars in F1 history.

Pre-season testing last week showed the Tilbrook team looked set to dominate the early season running too, despite fines and aerodynamic restrictions put on them as a result of overspending in 2021, with Verstappen looking the class of the field once more, leaving the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and the surprise package of the Aston Martin left to fight for the positions behind.

Heading into the first race of the season at Bahrain this weekend, where that test was held, Verstappen said: “With all the testing we have completed, we are heading into the weekend in a good position.

“There’s a lot to be said about reading into the data at testing, each track is very different in terms of how a car can behave, so I think as a team we will focus on improving and always trying to do better and that’s what we have to keep doing throughout the year.

“We had three positive days at testing but now this is where it counts, at the race.”

Perez, who finished third in the championship last year behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, added: “Race week is finally here and I am massively excited to be racing again.

“The RB19 felt really good in testing and responded well to set-up changes we made. I am looking forward to seeing how the car responds to qualifying and race conditions. I don’t think testing is a true representation of where teams are at, so it’ll be interesting to see where everyone is after qualifying on Saturday.

“We certainly look and feel strong but it’s all about how you perform across a race weekend. I want to start the season positively and have a consistent weekend in Bahrain.”