18/06/2024
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen: "We are back to the European races for a while now and I have been with the Team at the factory this week preparing for the Spanish Grand Prix, being the first race of a busy triple header.
Barcelona will be the first race where I will be debuting my new orange helmet. As a tribute to my fans and all of their support, they are actually featured on helmet and I think the final design looks really cool and detailed. I have great memories from the circuit, especially winning my first Formula One race there. It has a good mix of high and low-speed corners and we have historically driven well there so hopefully we can maximise the performance of the car this weekend. We are aiming to keep the momentum going from Canada, so we are looking forward to racing this weekend and hopefully have some good weather!"
Sergio Perez: "Coming into Spain I know I need a successful weekend, after a disaster in Canada. Sometimes you are forced to reset a little and we have done that since the last race. I have been in Milton Keynes working with the Team to try and identify where and what we can do better to ensure I am getting the most out of this car. I am confident in the car and the performance we can execute from it, but I need to show that on track better in Barcelona. I always enjoy the Spanish GP, it feels a lot like home and everyone makes me feel so welcome. It's a circuit I know very well and the RB20 should be quick around this type of track, so it's down to us to get things right and bring home the result we know we are capable of."
Stats & Facts
• The Team have led every lap at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since lap 31 of the 2022 Spain GP, when Checo took the lead. He swapped the lead with Max during their pitstop cycles before Max led Oracle Red Bull Racing to a 1-2 finish and then in 2023, Max led the race start-to-finish.
• Max's victory at the 2024 Canada GP was his 50th victory in the last 75 races.
• While Max was not on pole position in Canada, he set an identical lap time to polesitter George Russell, who was on pole because he set this time first. It was only the second example of a tie for pole position since Formula One began uniformly timing to three decimal places at the start of the 1982 season, the other being the 1997 European Grand Prix at Jerez, when three drivers set the same time (Jacques Villeneuve, Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen).
• Max has finished on the podium in the last six consecutive Spanish GPs, steadily improving his positions as the years have progressed (third place in 2018 and 2019, second place in 202 and 2021, before winning the race in 2022 and 2023).
• Max and Oracle Red Bull Racing have led the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships continuously since taking the lead following the 2022 Spain GP.
• Starting with Max's win in the 2016 race, the Team have finished on the podium for the last eight consecutive Spain GPs.