Verstappen 'Ready To Fight For Win' At 'Iconic Circuit'

Wednesday, 03 April 2024 at 23:00

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen showed great confidence ahead of this week's race weekend at Suzuka Circuit.

The Dutchman comes to Japan to win again after his victory streak was broken in Australia due to an unfortunate DNF caused by an issue with the right rear brake.

Helmut Marko assured the media that this problem should not resurface at Suzuka Circuit so the team can fully focus on their performance. The 80-year-old expected a very strong performance from the triple World Champion.

It is also a circuit that suits the team from Milton Keynes very well. Verstappen won the last two races in Japan in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, the win also sealed Red Bull's Constructor's Championship title. The 26-year-old said:

"Suzuka is always a great circuit to go racing at. As a team, we have had a lot of special memories here over the years including winning last year's constructors' championship as well as winning my second drivers' championship here too."

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The nature of the track typically tends to suit Red Bull cars very well, so the Austrian team comes into the fourth round of the 2024 season as the clear favorite despite not being on the podium in Australia.

"The team is feeling confident for Suzuka: it is an iconic circuit and is always fun to drive."

"The track has a lot of high speed corners and high degradation and we need to ensure that we optimise our performance where we can, especially with rain forecasted for this weekend."

As a team dealing with tire degradation the best, Red Bull will be looking to extract the maximum advantage this weekend. The Flying Dutchman added he feels ready to fight for the win again:

"I am looking forward to getting back in the car and ready to fight for the win this weekend."