Max Verstappen Fastest On Opening Day At Spa

It was an up and down opening day at the Belgian Grand Prix for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman topped the timesheets in FP2, but finished the session in the wall, with damage to his suspension as a result.

“I think we definitely had a positive start today but unfortunately I just lost the rear at the end of the second session, there was a bit too much oversteer to correct and I hit the wall. As a Team we were quite happy with how everything was going and we did some fine-tuning between FP1 and FP2. Looking ahead to tomorrow, there are of course things to take into consideration including the weather but it’s difficult to say what the track is going to be like in the wet. I think Saturday and Sunday will be similar weather to today so it will definitely be interesting. It’s also great that Checo will be with the Team next year, we have a good relationship so I’m happy to continue working together to try and score a lot of points for the Team for the rest of this season and of course next year,” said Verstappen.

On the day it was announced he will stay with the team for 2022, Sergio Perez focussed on long-run speed, and as such saw himself further down the timesheets that he would have liked, with 6th and 10th place finishes.

“The car is feeling good and I think we have strong potential for this weekend. It’s going to be interesting what happens with the weather tomorrow as that obviously affects how you configure the car but I’m looking forward to it. I think we will be in the fight and able to have a good qualifying, the pace was strong out there today and it will be interesting to see who has what when they put it all together in Q3. We collected plenty of information over the two practice sessions, we’ll sit down this evening to analyse it so we have the best package tomorrow. It’s also great to have my contract for next year with Red Bull finalised so that I can focus my energy on this season. I really enjoy being a part of this Team so I’m really happy to continue for 2022 but my focus right now is on this weekend and delivering the best possible result,” added Perez.