Verstappen Surprised by Red Bull's Improvement in Australia Performance

Photo : Reuters

Max Verstappen was surprised by how well his Red Bull car performed in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. He had problems with the car's setup during practice but still managed to take third place for the season-opening race on Saturday.

Verstappen said that the track in Australia is usually tough for his team, and it took a little time to figure out how to improve the car. He added, "We had a tough start, but we found a way to improve the car, and I’m happy with how it went today." Even though he felt confident, he admitted that the car still didn’t have the same speed as some of the other cars.

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Even though Verstappen did well, he said the car wasn’t fast enough to beat the McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who will start ahead of him in the race. However, he was glad to be ahead of the Ferrari and Mercedes cars.

There is rain expected on race day, which could help Verstappen's chances to catch up with the McLaren cars. Verstappen said he was ready for any weather but didn’t expect any big improvements in how the car performs during the race. "I don’t think we will see big changes, but I will do my best and see what happens," he said.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also said that Verstappen did a good job in qualifying. He noted that the car lost some speed in the last part of the track but added that they have time to improve the car. "We are not perfect yet, but we have a strong base to work from," Horner said.

Verstappen's teammate, Liam Lawson, had a tough weekend. He was knocked out in the first round of qualifying and struggled with the car during practice. Lawson went off the track several times and had to fix the car. Even though Lawson had a rough time, Verstappen didn’t seem worried about it affecting his performance during the race.