Verstappen says Red Bull has 'a lot of work to do before fighting for victory' in 2025

For the first time since 2022, Max Verstappen did not win the opening round of the season in F1. And for the first time since the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, the Dutchman is not leading the world championship – a record run of 1029 days without ever having relinquished control of the Drivers' standings! In Melbourne, the four-time reigning world champion had to settle for 2nd place behind Lando Norris, winner in Melbourne. "Settle" might not be the most appropriate expression, since few people would have placed Max Verstappen on the podium in Australia... including in his own clan!

Indeed, after laborious winter testing, pessimism had spread through the ranks of the team. Red Bull, considered the 4th strongest car on the grid after pre-season testing. However, in Australia, Max Verstappen managed to get the most out of his RB21 to claim a podium, taking advantage of the wet conditions and the error ofOscar piastri at the end of the race to climb to 2nd place. A position which does not illustrate the difficulties encountered by the Dutchman on Sunday, during the race, where he was unable to keep up with the pace of the McLaren and found himself in trouble with tires.

"If you look at the first stint, we were quite far behind. As soon as the tires started to overheat, we had no chance. McLaren just flew away, conceded Max Verstappen, who noted his team's delay against the British team. So we still have a lot of work to do before we fight for the win. But I'm happy that we're second here. It's actually one place better than we should have been and it's 18 points more than I got last year in this race."

Verstappen expected to struggle with tires

Tire management was the main source of problems for Red Bull in Australia and McLaren's main advantage over the rest of the grid. Max Verstappen quickly suffered on the intermediate tires, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, despite having a faster pace, were more conservative with their tires. "I could see it coming. I was having trouble with my tires, explained the Dutchman, who expected to have trouble with his tires on Sunday. It was similar to [Saturday]. The intermediates are even softer compounds, so they're even more prone to overheating. That's where we – and a lot of teams – struggle compared to McLaren. They just do a better job in that area. That's what we need to work on."

Despite losing to Lando Norris and falling seven points behind the Briton going into the 2025 season, Max Verstappen has no regrets about his performance in Australia. The four-time world champion could have even been aiming for victory behind the Briton in the final six laps after the final restart, but the track conditions made it impossible to overtake. “I did my best, I tried to be close, I tried to put a bit of pressure on, but it’s very difficult to overtake here. There was only one line. Even if I could have made an attempt in Turn 9, you have to go over the wet part, so you can’t do much. But at least it was close. It showed well on TV.”

In China, in milder conditions, Max Verstappen and Red Bull will have a clearer idea of ​​their position in the hierarchy. In Shanghai, will the Dutchman be able, once again, to exploit his 100% car and get back on the podium?

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