Verstappen focused on 'a more positive' Styrian GP

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is keen to put the events of the Formula 1 season opener behind him.

Verstappen was the first retiree of the Austrian Grand Prix, exiting the race from a strong position on the medium tyres and keeping pace with Mercedes.

"I feel good but of course the result was not what we wanted, which was to score a good amount of points and fight for the win," said Verstappen.

"I was looking good for a podium which I thought was easily possible because it was basically between Mercedes and myself on raw pace. But then you also look at how the whole race panned out, we could have scored a good amount of points against Lewis but it is what it is, we can’t change it and now I’m looking forward to hopefully having a more positive weekend."

Mercedes was dominant in Austria, topping every session, but the Red Bull Ring kerbs provided an unwelcome challenge, seemingly causing damage to sensors within the Mercedes gearbox.

Racing Point, who also run the Mercedes gearbox, suffered similar problems, while Williams, who run the Mercedes power unit but not the gearbox, also ran into trouble.

Verstappen, who retired due to an electrical problem, added: "We were a bit down on pace compared to Mercedes in qualifying, so we definitely need to close that gap to fight them in that area rather than on strategy.

"Our pace is usually a bit better in the race than in quali but there is still quite a bit of work to do which the engineers are flat out on. We have ideas and the direction to work on for this weekend so that’s positive."

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