Oracle Red Bull Racing Drivers Max Verstappen and Checo Perez over insights into the first race of the 2022 season.
A new season and a new number for the 2021 Formula One champion Max Verstappen. As he debuts the number 1 on his car for the 2022 season, there are a lot of question marks going into this season.
Drivers are still getting to know their new cars, and the faster they get comfortable the faster they will rise to the top of the championship standings.
After Day 1 of practice, Verstappen sits in first.
Max Verstappen
AST: Regarding Day 1 of practice, overall thoughts in on the car now that the track environment is more race ready than a testing environment?
MV: The car felt good today, testing here last week means we’ve all started in a good place. We had quite a straightforward and smooth day so I’m pretty happy, we also tried a few things on the car in each session and they seemed to work well. You can see that Ferrari are pushing hard and are very close so that’s exciting. Looking ahead, we’ll have to wait and see with different teams’ engine modes, no one is in quali spec yet so I think everyone still has a lot more to give. It’s good to see the teams are all closer together, in general
that’s what everyone wants and I think over time teams will get even closer together.
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 18: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing smiles in the Paddock before practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 18, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202203180191 // Usage for editorial use only //
MV: We learned a lot at testing in Barcelona and Bahrain, I’m very excited to turn our attention to racing now, it’s a whole new era for the sport and anything can happen. The focus is to bring the grid together and make it easier to follow, I hope we see that in the first race. Everything is so new so there are a lot of unknowns heading into the first race of the season. I’m looking forward to seeing where we are compared to the rest of the grid come qualifying on Saturday. The car looks good and as a Team we are in a good place. The most important thing for us in Bahrain is to have a stable weekend without too many issues and we hope to score a good amount of points.
Checo Perez
AST: Overall impressions heading into your second year with the team?
CP: I am looking forward to the new season, automatically you feel more settled going into your second year with a team. I feel more prepared because I now know exactly how the Team operate and the Oracle Red Bull Racing philosophy, so that makes a difference. Every team is in the same position starting the season, in that we don’t know the car as much because of the shakeup in regulations but we had a really good test, both in Bahrain and Barcelona. It will be interesting to see where everyone is come Sunday when the flag comes down and I think it will make for a good race. I am very excited for 2022 and I know the important thing is that I am consistent throughout the year – I am up for the fight.AST: Day 1 of practice is over, what adjustments need to be made?
CP: We have some work to do overnight to find a good compromise with the set up. We tried some different settings across the two cars, so I think we have good data to look at and then we can pick out the best bits for qualifying tomorrow. We are learning a lot about the tyre degradation and overall, there is some work to do but I am hopeful we will have a positive day tomorrow. FP2 will be the most useful session before qualifying because the conditions should be similar and I think it will be interesting to see where everyone is come Saturday evening. The pack is really close and I think the race will be even tighter so there will be some good racing all around.
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 18: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing prepares to drive in the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 18, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202203180302 // Usage for editorial use only //