Verstappen worry for Belgian GP as Spa "doesn't suit our package"

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has expressed concern for his Belgian Grand Prix hopes this weekend due to the Spa circuit's reliance on engine power that favours dominant Mercedes.

After impressively standing on the podium at the last five races following retirement in the season-opening grand prix in Austria, Verstappen heads to Belgium as Lewis Hamilton's nearest rival in the drivers' standings, trailing the Briton by 37 points.

The 22-year-old, who has retired twice in the last three years at Spa, believes the longest track on the F1 calendar favours Mercedes whose power unit has proven to be by far the strongest again so far this year.

"Over the last few years it has been a bit up and down in terms of results for us but you never know," acknowledged the nine-time grand prix winner.

"We don’t expect this race will be our favourite this year in terms of the layout suiting our package but we will be pushing hard as we have done at every race and maximising the result as a team.

"There are lots of long straights which of course means you can overtake here, but also I expect the guys behind us in qualifying will be very close, and knowing Mercedes has a lot of power they will obviously be very quick too."

Team-mate Alex Albon enjoyed one of his best F1 drives in last year's race when he cut through the field to finish fifth on his Red Bull debut after starting 17th following a grid penalty.

Like Verstappen, Albon also believes the circuit will play to Mercedes' strengths, yet still has hopes of an upset.

"I remember this weekend last year and even though the team didn’t give me any pressure, you know you want to do well and do the best job possible so to have a race like last year was pretty special," the Thai-British driver said.

"For this year, well firstly, the ban on qualifying modes has been moved back to Monza, so let’s see how that plays out.

"I don’t expect this weekend will be easy as Spa is pretty straight-line dependent and Mercedes are very strong power-wise. That being said, in Silverstone we didn’t expect much and we were flying there so let’s see!"

Before you go...

Mugello has "thrilling layout" for F1 - Gasly

"Unfinished business" for Mercedes in Spa - Wolff

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