Dutch world champion Max Verstappen looks to continue his rebellion as he returns to the seat of his first F1 World Championship win as he races at the Spanish Grand Prix at Montmelo in Barcelona.

After a difficult start to the season and withdrawing from two of the first three races due to mechanical problems in the Red Bull car, Verstappen has made a solid comeback after winning the last two races at the Emilia-Romagna and Miami awards, allowing him to close the gap that separates him from Charles Leclerc of Ferrari from Monaco, up to 19 points.

The Dutchman is now entering the fifth round, keeping his eyes on continuing his awakening and achieving his fourth win of the season and third in a row for only the second time in the 24-year-old’s career since 2021 when he won the prizes. France, Austria and Styria (according to the same scheme).

Now the Dutchman is returning to the circuit he made history in the first category in 2016 when, at 18 years and 228 days old, he became the youngest driver to win a World Championship round.

As the Mercedes team and its British driver Lewis Hamilton struggle to monopolize the Spanish Grand Prix for the past five seasons, Verstappen looks set to repeat the 2016 scenario.

Like Verstappen, his Mexican colleague Sergio Pérez returned to his country after the Miami race, not to rest, but to welcome his new son, Emilio, who, according to him, gives him another personal reason to achieve a good result. Sunday at Montmelo. .

But the task of Sainz and his Dutch counterpart will not be easy, given Ferrari’s desire to return to a winning streak after Leclerc settled for sixth and second in the last two races and his Spanish colleague Carlos Sainz withdrew in the last two races. three races.

Like other teams, Red Bull and Ferrari will replace a wide range of modifications in Catalonia aimed at reducing weight and improving performance.

Ferrari is looking for a solution to the problem it faced in Miami due to the F1-75’s poor performance in slow corners.

The Italian team has said it is looking for answers to why its slow cornering advantage, which it enjoyed earlier this season, has evaporated.

The Ferrari and Red Bull cars differed in performance and set-up in the early stages of this season.

Red Bull opted for a low grip and downforce setting on the RB18 which gave it an edge in terms of top speed and cornering at high speed.

In contrast, Ferrari relied on high downforce and traction settings to allow it to enjoy better performance in medium to low speed corners and in acceleration zones.

However, in Miami the difference between the two cars was not clear, prompting the Italian team to express their admiration for the transformation, especially as the Red Bull car also continued to enjoy its advantage on the straights.

It remains to be seen the extent of Ferrari’s modifications to its car amid much speculation about updates, especially after the Italians blocked media access last week to a photo shoot of the car at the Monza circuit without the Russian company’s logo. “Kaspersky”.

The Italian team completely closed off the track at Montse, where heavy security was used to prevent any intrusion or espionage during the photo shoot, and barriers were placed on both sides of the track to prevent any details from being visible from the car.

There is talk of major changes to the F1-75 floor, with reports indicating that the Red Bull car has lost seven kilograms of its weight.

So far, Mercedes has suffered the most from the new technical regulations applied to cars this season, and has not yet been able to find a solution to the problem of rebounds on the track.

However, Austrian team manager Toto Wolff revealed that the constructors’ title holders will not be making major changes to the W13 this week, but after Barcelona “we have to look in the mirror and ask: are we wrong?”

Hamilton could run into trouble again, aside from his poor performance on the track compared to compatriot George Russell, who is 23 points ahead of the seven-time world champion after five races, if he insists on the decision to ban jewelry. during the race.