Max Verstappen told to ‘forget’ recent Red Bull improvement over ‘terrible’ Spanish Grand Prix problem

Max Verstappen has won the Spanish Grand Prix in each of the past three years, but the Red Bull driver might not be the clear favourite to win in Barcelona this weekend.

Catalunya has often been a happy hunting ground for Verstappen over the seasons, with the 27-year-old also securing his first race win on debut for Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish GP. He has only won the Austrian Grand Prix and Mexico City GP more often than in Spain with five.

Scoring his fourth Spanish GP win in a row and fifth all-time this Sunday would also continue Verstappen’s run of making the podium at every other round to start the 2025 F1 season. He has not had back-to-back race wins since topping the podium in Canada and Spain last year.

The 2025 Spanish GP might reset the pecking order, too, with the FIA enforcing stricter tests to clamp down on flexible front wings in Barcelona. Red Bull expect the new flexi-wing tests will hurt McLaren the most, yet their rivals from Woking do insist it will not cost them much.

Max Verstappen told his Spanish GP hopes will rely on Red Bull’s tyre management

But Mike Hezemans feels Verstappen’s hopes for winning the 2025 Spanish GP will hinge on Red Bull’s tyre management, given the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has ‘terrible’ asphalt. It will also negate the improvements Verstappen and Red Bull displayed as he won at Imola.

Verstappen overtook Oscar Piastri to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after catching the McLaren driver out into the Tamburello chicane on Lap 1. He then utilised Imola being kinder to the Pirelli rubber to win unchallenged, but Hezemans doubts a repeat is certain in Spain.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Hezemans told RacingNews365: “I think he’ll be fine, but it all depends on [the tyres]. In Imola, it seemed like his tyre wear was a lot less. Barcelona is a different story than Imola because the circuit in Barcelona eats up the tyres.

“Imola is already good to the tyres. But Imola is really not the same track as Barcelona, ​​you can forget that. The asphalt is terrible.”

Max Verstappen struggled the last time Pirelli provided the C1 and C2 tyres being used in Spain

Pirelli has provided all teams with the three hardest compounds in its 2025 F1 tyre range for the Spanish GP due to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s very abrasive asphalt. It is one of the circuits in F1 that places the most stress on the tyres, as well as the highest lateral loads.

READ MORE: The most successful drivers at the F1 Spanish GP of all time and in Barcelona

Imola’s track surface is far less abrasive, so Pirelli debuted its new-for-2025 C6 soft tyres for qualifying at the Emilia Romagna GP along with the C4 and C5 tyres which took Verstappen to the win. Pirelli has not provided the C1 and C2 compounds since the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Verstappen endured a weekend to forget at the Bahrain GP, as well, as he would only secure P7 in qualifying with the C3 compound tyres that Pirelli has also chosen for the soft tyres for the Spanish GP. He even finished the race in P6, 34.395 seconds behind Piastri, as he won.

It will also give the Dutchman little comfort that Verstappen won the Japanese GP from pole position when Pirelli first used the C1 and C2 this year. He held off Lando Norris for pole and the win at Suzuka, which resurfaced the first sector which stresses the Pirelli tyres the most.