Reigning World Drivers Champion Max Verstappen has described this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix as very important as his Red Bull team prepare to unveil a series of upgrades.

The 2024 season has seen Red Bull and Verstappen’s dominance massively curtailed as teams like Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren have closed the gap between their cars and the Red Bull, making for much more exciting racing.

But Verstappen said Red Bull have now made some big advances which they are ready to bring to the track this weekend. Speaking to the media ahead of the weekend’s racing he said: “We brought some stuff before, but it was not particularly big, so this one is a bigger one and it is a very important weekend.

“I think for everyone, this is an important, important weekend.”

Asked if he felt the team needed more pace if they were to defend their current Drivers and Constructors titles Verstappen said: “You could say that. I think so. If this is not giving us some good lap time, I don’t know how the rest of the season is going to evolve, but at the same time, I also don’t know what’s coming from the other teams.

“So, we just focus on ourselves. We are bringing some things to the car and of course, I hope that it will give us a bit of lap time.”