Let's go back in time for a moment! Back to last year, to the Australian Grand Prix. How did Max Verstappen fare in his RB18 on the Albert Park circuit?

The Formula One circus left Saudi Arabia to settle in Melbourne. Red Bull was right there earlier in Bahrain. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez both cruised towards the podium and had the speed to take the fight to Ferrari. Until both cars crashed out with engine problems and Red Bull was straggler in the constructors' championship. Yes, the RB18 had speed, but was the car reliable? In Jeddah, Red Bull drivers fared better with a win for Verstappen.

Concerns at Red Bull

With headaches about reliability, the Austrians started the first free practice session, which did not go smoothly. The Dutchman finished the first practice session in fourth place, eighteen-tenths behind Carlos Sainz. In the second free practice, the then brand-new one-time world champion fared better with a second place, two-tenths behind Charles Leclerc. It was clear that Red Bull did not have the speed that Ferrari showed in Australia.

After finishing seventh in the third free practice, Verstappen started qualifying. After Q1, the smiles returned to Red Bull. Indeed, the man from Hasselt led the list, three-tenths faster than rival Charles Leclerc. Red Bull also fared well in Q2. Now it was teammate Sergio Perez who topped the timesheet. But Ferrari peaked at the right time. In the final seconds of Q3, Leclerc snatched pole position away from Verstappen, forcing the Dutchman to start on P2, next to teammate Perez.

Verstappen briefly in the lead

Then the race. The lights were extinguished, the crowd screamed their lungs out and the engines screamed. Charles Leclerc was better away than his Dutch rival and was able to enter the chicane as race leader. Verstappen had to defend against teammate Perez. The Mexican was better away and was looking for a gap. Verstappen tried to hook up with his Monaco rival, but could not get within a second of the Ferrari driver, who thus managed to keep Verstappen out of the DRS. If not succeeding on track, then maybe from the pit wall. Red Bull brought the man with start number 1 in for a set of hards, where Leclerc stayed outside on his mediums. The undercut was unsuccessful. Ferrari was able to send the Monegasque back out on the hards in front of Verstappen a few laps later.

But Verstappen got a retake. A crash by Sebastian Vettel caused race control to bring out the safety car, putting the Dutchman right behind Leclerc. It got exciting, very exciting. Verstappen approached Leclerc and got his front wing a few seconds in front of the Ferrari's nose, but it was still Charles Leclerc who entered the chicane first via the inside. The red car was simply faster and was able to pull a gap within a few laps. Twelve laps later, things went from bad to worse for the world champion. Max Verstappen had to park his RB18 aside with yet another engine failure. Charles Leclerc was able to drive to the finish line smiling, only to share the podium with number two Sergio Perez and number three George Russell.

Thus, after three Grands Prix, Max Verstappen was sixth in the championship, 46 points behind Charles Leclerc. How the season went on is history.