Verstappen on dropping out: 'Knew before the race that there was possibility'

Max Verstappen is very disappointed with his retirement after the Australian Grand Prix. The Dutchman seemed to be in second place, but had to retire after 39 laps. Nevertheless, the reigning world champion remains positive, as he says in the Red Bull Racing press release.

Although Verstappen failed to get Charles Leclerc off the lead during the race, the Dutchman made no major mistakes in the race. He seemed to have to settle for second place, but even that was not to be. Due to problems with his car, he could do nothing but put it down by the side.

"I knew before the race that there was a possibility that we wouldn't finish, but I tried not to think about it," Verstappen stated about the situation. "This is not what you need if you want to fight for the championship. The gap is already pretty big."

Verstappen has considerable ground to make up on Leclerc

Verstappen also retired during the opening race in Bahrain, leaving him in sixth place in the world championship with 25 points. Leclerc tops the leaderboard with a whopping 71 points, while George Russell and Carlos Sainz follow. Sergio Perez occupies the fourth position.