Max Verstappen has explained his prudent approach to the Formula 1 race in Australia and given an assessment of the chaos at the end of the race.
Red Bull has won a Formula 1 race in Australia for the first time since 2011. Max Verstappen ultimately secured victory at Albert Park in a superior manner after losing the start to both Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton on the first lap.
With the superior RB19, however, the Dutchman could afford it. “We had a very bad start and I was cautious on the first lap because I had a lot to lose and they had a lot to win,” Verstappen explains his approach, especially in the duel with Hamilton in turn three.
“I was pretty careful there, too,” he says. “I think I could have been a bit more aggressive. But on the other hand I didn’t want my car to be damaged because I knew we had a fast car. So even losing a place or two wasn’t the end of the world.”
“And after that the car was fast, you could see that straight away,” adds the championship leader. “We were always waiting for the DRS to open up to have a chance to overtake. But yeah, the first start wasn’t good. I just didn’t get off the line well. And I think my starts just got better and better . So at least that’s an improvement!”
Ultimately, Verstappen was able to drive the race home in a controlled manner. Before the chaos at the end of the race, the Red Bull driver was in the lead with a lead of around ten seconds. According to the data from the technology company ‘PACETEQ’, he was around two tenths per lap faster than Hamilton in the Mercedes, with Verstappen no longer driving at the limit after the overtaking manoeuvre.
Towards the end of the Grand Prix, however, Verstappen’s victory was once again put to the test. First, the Dutchman misbraked in the penultimate corner and had to detour into the run-off zone before the race was restarted again with Kevin Magnussen’s crash and the resulting red flag.
Verstappen: Melbourne should thank me!
It was just a little bit of a slowdown so I drove a little far, cut the grass a little and saved Melbourne some money to mow the grass there. Yes, I think I did the city a favor. I just mowed the lawn a little more so they don’t have to do that in that area.”
“But I don’t know. I blocked a bit and didn’t want to flatten the tire completely, so I drove a bit far, but we had a good lead,” Verstappen analyzes his ride.
“And then with those red flags. I don’t know, the first one [für Alexander Albon] maybe you can do it, but I don’t really understand the second one. So it was quite a mess. But yes, we survived everything. We had good pace in the car again today and we won, which is of course the most important thing [ist].”
