Verstappen sees a lot of work to do: 'We are struggling'

In an unpredictable Australian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen did the best he could with the RB21. The McLarens were too dominant and had an advantage on more than one part compared to Red Bull Racing. But how does the Verstappen look back on this race?

Speaking after the Grand Prix, Max Verstappen said he did not expect to win the race in Melbourne. "I could see it coming. I was struggling with my tyres. It was similar to yesterday. Now, Intermediates are even more of a soft compound, so they are even more prone to overheating"

One particular issue Red Bull needs to work on is managing their tyres. "That’s where we – and a lot of teams – are struggling compared to McLaren. They’re simply doing a better job on that. That’s what we need to work on."

Nevertheless, the Dutchman is happy with his final result and is looking ahead to the Chinese Grand Prix positively. "I think it's good compared to the teams behind us. But if you look at the first stint, we were quite a bit off. As soon as the tyres started to overheat, we had no chance. McLaren just took off. So, we still have a lot of work to do to fight for a win."

He concluded, "Yeah, I’m happy that we are second here. It's basically one place better than we should have been and it's 18 more points than I had last year at this race."

This article was written in collaboration with Sandy van Wijngaarden.

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