Max Verstappen topped qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing driver will start from pole position on Sunday, while his teammate and rival Sergio Perez has to start from the back after a troubled Saturday. The Dutchman is not worried about reliability and is looking forward to the race.
There is nobody in front of the Dutchman at the start, which means that he will try to drive away from the Mercedes behind him. The pace is in the car to do that. Verstappen's long runs may be very dominant again, but the short qualifying lap was also particularly fast. To Viaplay, he reacted to his time of 1.16.732.
Verstappen not worried about reliability
Verstappen: "That lap felt good, so I did think it would be pole. Of course, it can always be better. It's always difficult here to get the tyres in the optimum window [...] In the end, I think we did that reasonably well." It did not go entirely smoothly. Over the team radio, Verstappen was again heard complaining about downshifting. Those complaints were also heard last race weekends in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Verstappen: "That's something that could be better with us. And that has actually always been a thing. That's something I will of course continue to insist on." The problems that surfaced with his teammate do not otherwise worry Verstappen: "To my knowledge, there were no problems."