Verstappen: I’m feeling nice and relaxed

A big change for the 25-year-old, a calmer and less stressed out approach to his racing was telling last year. Unflustered he turned 15th on the grid into a win, surviving a spin. Two F1 titles mean he can now savour the dream he attained, twice now.

The big pressure is off, already last year it was evident in his approach and reactions, sure Verstappen will blow a fuse or more this year - he had a good old rant when his rFactor 2 sim game crashed during Virtual Le Mans recently - but less regularly so as time has marched on.

Perhaps, if his nemesis Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes get it together, a very different Verstappen will emerge. The two simply can't fight for the same piece of tarmac without it getting nasty. They are very 'Jekyll and Hyde' when it comes to dueling on track.

For F1 fans, and one imagines the F1 world in general, in an era of seasons packed with races, the gap in time between engines switching off, after Abu Dhabi, and roaring back to life three months later seems eternal.

But the time is here now, and on the cusp of track action at Sakhir, Verstappen said in his Bahrain F1 testing preview: "I’m feeling nice and relaxed heading into the 2023 season.

"I had a good break and prepared well this year. Time is so limited at testing so hopefully, we have some solid days without too many issues, it’s important to have smooth sessions. The Team have worked hard over the winter.

"I hope the RB19 is another good car to challenge up at the front with but time will tell," added Verstappen, who used the Red Bull RB18 to great effect, powering him to 15 wins last year. More of the same from Adrian Newey and his team is expected.

Hence, no surprise Max's veteran teammate is itching get things started: "I am massively looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the RB19 again.

"I feel fit and ready for the season, this will be my 13th year in F1 and I cannot wait to be back and then be back racing. Testing is very important because it is the only time of the year when you can really make big changes and explore different setups in the car.

"I feel like things are just getting started, I want to enjoy this year and have my best season ever," added Perez , which would mean at least second place in the F1 drivers' standings; last year Checo was third.

Red Bull won the F1 constructors' title last year for the first time since 2013, and will start the season as runaway favourites with their Dutch ace tipped to make it three in a row come Abu Dhabi in November.