Red Bull not the quickest but that can change: Verstappen

Formula One defending champion Max Verstappen downplayed Red Bull’s chances at Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, saying the car is slower than their rivals and still working through some issues.

Verstappen starts his quest for a fifth successive drivers’ title at Albert Park with question marks over the pace of the Red Bull, with McLaren and Ferrari impressing the most in winter testing in Bahrain.

“I know that we are not the quickest at the moment,” Verstappen told reporters at Albert Park on Thursday.

“But, again, it’s a very long season. If you would have asked that question here last year and at the end of the season again, you know, it would look completely different.

“So a lot of things can always change quite quickly in Formula One.”

Verstappen said his car was an improvement on the one that he drove to sixth place at the final round of the 2024 season in Abu Dhabi but there were still problems to iron out.

“I guess we’ll find out more this weekend and after. But we’ll try to do our best,” he said.

“I mean, there’s not really much more that we can do. I think (at) testing, there’s not many days.

“So we found that there are already a few areas that we can work on. And that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

Sunday’s race marks the 10th anniversary of Verstappen’s Formula One debut at Albert Park, where he became the youngest driver to start a race at the age of 17 and 166 days behind the wheel of a Toro Rosso.

Asked what he might tell his rookie self had he the chance to go back in time, Verstappen said he would offer no advice.

“It’s important to make your mistakes and, of course, feel that excitement at the time, because if I would have told him at the time what he would achieve in the sport, then it’s pretty boring to know what’s ahead, right?” said Verstappen.

“You need to have that uncertainty. You need to feel the pressure of having to perform at the time, to work your way into a top team.”

Norris and McLaren hungry for more silverware: Lando Norris says his confidence was sky high after McLaren’s first constructors’ title in 26 years last season, with the team hungrier than ever to add the drivers’ championship to their trophy cabinet.

The Briton came tantalisingly close to dethroning Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as world champion in 2024 and is widely expected to be battling at the front of the grid again this year.

“It’s motivated everyone even more from a team perspective,” he said of the constructors’ crown.

“The team got their first chance in 26 years to experience what it’s like to win a championship and I think it’s made them hungrier now that they know what it’s like.

“I think it’s good to acknowledge as a whole team that there will be more expectation now, more eyes, more pressure, more competitors trying to bring you down.”

McLaren were among the quickest at pre-season testing in Bahrain, with Norris and his Oscar Piastri looking to lay down a marker at the season-opening race in Melbourne this week.

Norris said he was excited by what lay ahead after showing last year that he could thrive under the weight of expectation and in high-pressure situations.

“I’m excited about the season, but very calm,” he said on the McLaren website.

“I feel relaxed. From a personal side, I don’t feel any more pressure. I’m always nervous and will always be, but that turns into excitement.

“One (thing I’ve learnt) is that I can do it, and I’ve got what it takes,” he added.

McLaren started last season slowly before an upgrade at the sixth round in Miami radically improved their fortunes and allowed Norris to take his first win. But that still left him 53 points behind Verstappen.

Norris attempted to claw back the deficit as Red Bull’s supremacy was eroded, but his title bid ran out of steam.

“This is the most confident I’ve been in the team and probably the most confident I have been in myself,” he said.

“It’s honestly not a big change, it’s quite small, but I feel more prepared and a more complete driver than I’ve ever been.

“Achieving what we did last year makes you believe you can do it again. That belief is what gives you the most confidence.”

Agencies