Max Verstappen has admitted his surprise at qualifying third for tomorrow’s F1 Australian GP after a difficult weekend build up.
The reigning world champion’s title defence looked set to start on a negative note in Albert Park, as the RB21 struggled for pace.
Squirming in corners, and unable to push when applying the throttle, Verstappen rarely troubled the top four during Friday practice.
The car looked dramatically different on Saturday after overnight setup changes, transforming Verstappen’s prospects.
He featured towards the top of the timesheets in qualifying, securing third, three tenths away from the two McLarens.
Speaking in the post qualifying press conference, Verstappen admitted the team had a tough start to the weekend.
“We had a bit of a tough start. This has never really been a good track to us, I think, as well, so it took a bit of time to understand how we can improve the situation, and we did that today.”
Max Verstappen: ‘No miracles’ expected in the race
Despite his turnaround in fortune, Verstappen was cautious at the prospect of challenging McLaren in the race.
He said long run pace looked ‘ok’ , and was happy to have leapfrogged Ferrari and Mercedes.
“I’m quite surprised to be sitting here [in the press conference] after yesterday! I felt confident. I felt one with the car. Of course, clearly it was lacking a bit of pace, but overall, happy with the laps in qualifying.
“We were just trying to fine-tune the balance, and the car just came alive a little bit more in general, it was quite OK to drive because it was too slow.
“Today it was a little bit faster, but clearly still not fast enough. But still, to be ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes I think is good for us.”
“I don’t expect like any kind of miracles about it, I think [long-run pace] is OK. But I think it’s not on the same level [as the McLarens]. I’ll just do my best to see what happens tomorrow.”
Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool/Clive Rose/Getty Images
