Max Verstappen spies opportunity to repeat stunning Red Bull upset

Max Verstappen is aiming to replicate his superb victory at Imola this weekend, as F1 heads to the Spanish Grand Prix. 

Having taken two wins so far this year, at Suzuka and the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, respectively, the Red Bull driver is hoping the RB21 will be able to help him reproduce the latter performance at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which should, like Imola, be better suited to the car.

In that race, after surprising Oscar Piastri heading into the first corner to take the lead, Verstappen put together an assured display, aided by unexpectedly strong race pace and superior tyre wear, to reach the chequered flag first.

As the final leg of the current triple-header, the round in Spain comes directly off the back of an underwhelming weekend in Monte Carlo for the 27-year-old, where he started and finished fourth.

Despite that result, the Dutchman remains within touching distance of Piastri and Lando Norris in the drivers' championship, sitting 25 points adrift of the Australian out front.

"Monaco wasn’t the most exciting race for us: we did everything right but ultimately there wasn’t much more we could do in the race following the qualifying result," Verstappen reflected before looking ahead.

"Looking to Spain, the final race of the triple header, we will hopefully see a better performance and something closer to what we had in Imola.

"I think we should be more comfortable with the car and therefore more competitive. The track has a lot of history and has long corners and high speed turns and is always a good circuit to drive."

The four-time F1 drivers' champion highlighted the sentimental value he places on the circuit in Barcelona, the scene of his first victory, in 2016.

He added: "Spain is where I won my first Formula 1 race so I have many special memories there and hopefully we can maximise our performance as best we can this week."