Formula 1 Australian GP
After a "tough start", Verstappen didn't expect to qualify in the top three
Red Bull's RB21 showed clear signs of improvement, having looked difficult to drive in F1's FP1 and FP2 sessions in Melbourne
Jake Boxall-Legge
Edited: Mar 15, 2025, 7:35 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Max Verstappen admitted to some surprise in finishing third in Formula 1 qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, following Red Bull's turnaround in fortunes after a lacklustre pair of Friday practice sessions.
The reigning champion ended up fifth in FP1 and seventh in FP2 after struggling with a wayward RB21 chassis during his qualifying simulations, while his new team-mate Liam Lawson found the car even harder to drive and sat in the bottom quarter of the timesheets.
Overnight work seemed to bring the Red Bull into a much better frame; Verstappen was just 0.081s away from Oscar Piastri's FP3 benchmark to sit third fastest, and reclaimed that position in qualifying – albeit 0.385s shy of Lando Norris' pole lap.
Read Also:
Reflecting on qualifying, Verstappen explained that the car was still lacking a little bit of outright pace, but that the balance changes had made it much easier to get the tyres into the right window for a qualifying lap.
"We had a bit of a tough start. This has never really been a good track to us I think as well, so it took a bit of time to understand how we can improve the situation, and we did that today," Verstappen suggested.
"I'm quite surprised to be sitting here [in the press conference] after yesterday! I felt confident. I felt one with the car. Of course, clearly it was lacking a bit of pace, but overall, happy with the laps in qualifying.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
"We were just trying to fine-tune the balance, and the car just came alive a little bit more in general, it was quite OK to drive because it was too slow.
"Today it was a little bit faster, but clearly still not fast enough. But still, to be ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes I think is good for us."
Verstappen also noted that the sensitivity of the tyres, particularly in the higher-speed corners, made it difficult to maintain the pace through the lap – a phenomenon shown in the drop-off in the final sector, as Verstappen often showed up well in sectors one and two.
He stated that he didn't expect "miracles" from Red Bull's long-run pace, which was found to be the fourth-best in the field when accounting for the medium-tyre stints - although this was before the team made changes to the RB21's set-up.
"I don't expect like any kind of miracles about it, I think [long-run pace] is OK. But I think it's not on the same level [as the McLarens]. I'll just do my best to see what happens tomorrow."
Photos from Australian GP - Qualifying
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 Australian Grand Prix - Saturday
Formula 1
75
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Fernando Alonso suffers damage but "maybe Q3 was possible" in Australia
Next article Carlos Sainz: Top 10 Australian GP start "definitely" vindicates Williams move
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jake Boxall-Legge
More from
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen: FAQ on his GTWC Europe debut
Formula 1
Formula 1 4 h
Max Verstappen: FAQ on his GTWC Europe debut
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
More from
Red Bull Racing
Christian Horner takes cheeky swipe at Guenther Steiner: 'He never achieved an F1 podium'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Christian Horner takes cheeky swipe at Guenther Steiner: 'He never achieved an F1 podium'
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Formula 1
Formula 1 6 h
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Latest news
Did Haas make the correct decision in signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027?
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
16 min
Did Haas make the correct decision in signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027?
Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 22 min
Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
Rafael Camara to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
30 min
Rafael Camara to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Cadillac signs Ricky Taylor, Antonio Felix da Costa in refreshed 2027 WEC line-up
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
1 h
Cadillac signs Ricky Taylor, Antonio Felix da Costa in refreshed 2027 WEC line-up
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe