Verstappen: Important to have stable weekend in Bahrain

Verstappen ended pre-season testing in Bahrain last week fastest of all despite not "giving full beans" at the time, while his Red Bull RB18 seemingly a handy piece of kit.

This makes the Dutchman's hopes for a stable weekend sound like a case of "under-promise, over-achieve" as he should be gunning for victory in his "full send" mode, if his team's pre-season form is anything to go by.

Previewing the Bahrain Grand Prix, Verstappen said in a team press release: "We learnt 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," he added.

"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," the Red Bull ace concluded.

Sergio Perez also shared his expectation as he embarks on his second season with Red Bull, his first not being spectacular, but solid enough to warrant a contract extension, especially as he proved on various occasions in 2021 that he was a solid team player.

"I am looking forward to the new season, automatically you feel more settled going into your second year with a team," Perez said. "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," he pointed out.

"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," the Mexican veteran concluded.