Max Verstappen desperate for ‘straightforward weekend’ in Italy

Verstappen’s reliability have majorly cost him early on in the season

Verstappen has failed to finish two of the opening three races (AFP via Getty Images)

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen is eager for a “straightforward weekend” at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after a difficult start to the 2022 season.

The 24-year-old Dutchman suffered reliability failures in both Bahrain and Melbourne, meaning he has only finished one of the first three races.

And while that finish did come in a victory in Saudi Arabia, the Red Bull man already finds himself a huge 46 points adrift of drivers’ championship leader Charles Leclerc.

As a result, Verstappen is simply looking for a smooth weekend of racing without any major issues.

Speaking ahead of the first European race of the season, he told Planet F1: “The team trackside and back at the factory in Milton Keynes are working incredibly hard.

“Hopefully we’ll have a straightforward weekend and that we score some good points as a team.

“For now, we will take it race by race and we’ll see where we end up.”

This weekend is an opportunity for Verstappen to recover some of the points he lost in Bahrain and Australia after problems with the car.

As well as Sunday’s race, the Emilia Romagna GP welcomes back the sprint race for the first time in 2022.

The sprint race, which will take place on Saturday, gives the drivers the opportunity to claim a maximum of eight extra points if they win the 21-lap contest.