As expected, both McLarens were out of reach during the qualifying round for the Australian Grand Prix. However, Max Verstappen managed to qualify as the best of the rest. He will start the race at Albert Park from the third position, which according to the world champion, is the best possible outcome.
“It was a good qualifying round,” Verstappen concludes afterwards. “Friday was quite a challenging day for us, so ending up in third place isn’t bad. I’ll take it.” According to the four-time world champion, who has been the polesitter in Melbourne for the past two years, he could never drive the perfect lap in the RB21 due to the unpredictable tyres. He believes that this wouldn’t have made much of a difference anyway. “Because the gap with the McLarens is quite large (almost four-tenths with Lando Norris).”
Considering the weather forecast for the race, which predicts rain, the starting position is favourable. As was evident last year in Brazil after a phenomenal comeback race, Verstappen is known to excel in rainy conditions. “I don’t care whether it’s dry or wet,” says the Dutchman. “Crazy things can happen in the rain here because it’s so slippery. But that applies to everyone.”
