What if it was the right one for Max Verstappen in Australia? If his engine does not catch fire, this time, the Red Bull driver has a good chance of slamming his first success on a GP he has never won. On Saturday, he went to slam his second pole of the season, just to get on the right track. Even if the qualifying session was more difficult than expected.
For this third round of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Dutchman will start ahead of the two Mercedes of Britons George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, delighted after a successful third part of qualifying.
Verstappen was only 236/1000 ahead of Russell, a smaller gap than expected, perhaps due to the fairly cool conditions in qualifying. No smile on the other hand for the other Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, relegated to last position.
Checo Perez furax
The Mexican went off the track in the first part of qualifying, symbolic of a catastrophic start to the weekend for the one who had won pole and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix two weeks earlier.
Already during practice on Saturday, he had several outings due to braking problems, which were once again fatal on Saturday. "It's always the same problem," he said shortly after his mistake.
Verstappen, who is ahead of him by a small point, could therefore take advantage of it to fly in the drivers' standings on Sunday on the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne (5.278 km).
- Sport
- Max Verstappen
- Red bull
- Australian F1 Grand Prix
- Mercedes