Max Verstappen frustrated by his result

After successful qualifying, hopes were high for the Team Toro Rosso at the start of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, first round of the 2016 World Championship. 4th and 7th after the first lap, Max Verstappen et Carlos Sainz seemed well on their way to fighting with the Williams by Felipe Massa and the Red Bull de Daniel Ricciardo. But after the restart following the red flag displayed following the accident involving Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutiérrez, a communication error in the pits caused the Dutchman to lose a lot of time.

“It's a frustrating afternoon, comments the former pilot F3. We had an excellent start to the race and we were able to keep Mercedes behind (the W07 of Lewis Hamilton, Editor’s note). We had good pace, but after the red flag there was a lack of communication for the second stop and it became very difficult.

We had a fantastic car and finishing tenth is not where we should be. I'm very disappointed because it was a great opportunity for us to get a very good result. Now we just need to focus on the next race and try to score more points than today. »

Verstappen also estimated that he was faster than his teammate while the two STR11s were stuck behind Jolyon Palmer (Renault), before making a mistake and hitting Sainz at turn 15.

Discover the analysis of the Australian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2055 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.