Verstappen: “Winter testing does not reveal the true situation”

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) is the pleasant surprise of this Sunday March 17 in Melbourne (Australia). The Dutchman recorded a podium on his first outing with the Honda engine, allowing the Japanese supplier to add a new line to a list blocked since the 2008 British GP (Rubens Barrichello 3rd on an official Honda).

We feared the energy drink team would be handicapped by this new V6 Turbo hybrid unit, but the opposite happened in Albert Park! “For Honda to have a first podium in the V6 era is a fantastic start, well done to them, underlines Max Verstappen. 

Very happy to start the 2019 season on the podium We had a great car, so a big thank you to @redbullracing and congrats to @ HondaRacingF1 for their 1st podium in the V6 era #KeepPushing #AusGP pic.twitter.com/pWNHWAsdGw

- Max Verstappen (@ Max33Verstappen) March 17, 2019

Reliable in this race (no damage for the Red Bulls and the Toro Rosso), the engine also provides satisfaction in terms of power. “This is a very good step forward from last year. underlines the wearer of number 33. When I compare top speeds with Mercedes et Ferrari, I am very happy with it. In general, the engine works very well, without any problems. Its very important. »

More careful in front of the microphones than on the track, Jos Verstappen's son got into trouble with Sebastian Vettel, with a nice overtaking result. “If you had told me that we would finish 35 seconds ahead of the first Ferrari, I would have said ‘we’ll see’. Winter testing does not reveal the true situation. We had a good car."

From there to bringing Red Bull to the level of outsiders in the championships, there is still a big step that Max Verstappen does not want to take. “Time will tell if we can challenge for first place. »

Find the analysis of the Australian GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2208 of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.