Max Verstappen described the experience of participating in battles in the midfield during the Formula 1 Australian GP as a ‘Mario Kart’ (video game) race. The four-time champion had to start at the back of the grid after an accident in the qualifying session that eliminated him early from the session, but managed to recover to sixth place, also receiving the ‘driver of the day’ vote from fans thanks to a series of overtakes.
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“Chaos, up and down. You overtake on a straight and then you can be overtaken again. Of course, I also have better cornering speed, so they can’t attack me back. Strange things, like Mario Kart, happened in the middle of the pack,” Verstappen told Viaplay.
Despite the recovery, the Dutchman faced additional problems during the race: “At the beginning I stayed out of trouble, but obviously we are much faster than the entire midfield. You have to get through it without damage. When I was a bit alone, I suffered a lot with tire graining and also with brake problems, which were pulling to one side. The steering was not ideal. Honestly, there aren’t many positives, also in terms of feeling,” he added.
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Even finishing the race almost a minute behind winner George Russell of Mercedes, Verstappen highlighted Red Bull Racing’s performance with its new Red Bull Powertrains-Ford power unit: “We are competing for the first time with our own engine, so we can’t complain. I managed to overtake many people, which shows there is power. Of course, we can’t compete head-to-head at the front yet, but that’s not our only problem. Still need to evolve with the car,” the Dutch driver concluded.
