Rain expected in Australia, good news for Verstappen?

5 months after the one in Brazil, will we be treated to a new masterpiece from Max Verstappen In the rain? For that, we'll have to wait until the day of the Australian Grand Prix, but it's a safe bet that the first round of the season will be lively, while Mother Nature could still have a role to play.

Indeed, the Australian government weather website reports a very lively weekend in terms of conditions with high temperatures on Saturday (37°C expected) and above all a 90% risk of rain on Sunday for the race. Good news for the show of course, but above all for the four-time world champion? Without doubt, since Red Bull did not hide his fears about a large deficit compared to McLaren under normal conditions at the start of the year.

« In my opinion it will be a three or four way battle between McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and us. But if we look at the test results, McLaren already has a head start, recognizes Red Bull's special advisor from Sport.de. This was the case on both short and long runs. It's not alarming yet. We've made progress, but the current favorite is clearly McLaren. Only on Wednesday were we tied with McLaren. But on Friday, the final day, I'd say our deficit on the long runs was two to three tenths of a second. Furthermore, McLaren's tire wear was also significantly better than our data indicated. »

A new Maxterclass?

If this trend continues in the dry and therefore before the start, Max Verstappen could take advantage of it to make up for this deficit thanks to his skill in the rain, like his victory at Interlagos last November after starting 17th.

« The weather seems to be a bit hit and miss each day. We'll experience heat and then rain., " he said upon his arrival in Melbourne without wanting to get too involved, perhaps aware that he does not have equipment as efficient as in the past or at a level similar to that of the best on the grid, in this case McLaren.

« I think we all expected a little more., replies Max Verstappen when discussing the pace displayed by his RB21 during pre-season testing. But in a way, I'm very happy to be here because we can finally see where we stand, because otherwise you keep thinking about it. (that they are withdrawn) and it doesn't make any sense anyway. At some point you have to go for it, hoping it's not too bad. » See you on Sunday for the answer.

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