Verstappen "all over the place" despite front row for Australian GP

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen says he was "all over the place" in the Red Bull after qualifying second for the Australian Grand Prix.

Listen to this article

In Melbourne, Verstappen took over provisional pole from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc with his second run in Q3, but with his final effort Leclerc struck back to take his second pole of the 2022 season by 0.286s.

Despite qualifying on the front row Verstappen admitted he hadn't felt comfortable in the Red Bull RB18 all weekend on a single lap, saying he was "all over the place".

"I didn't really feel good in the whole weekend so far," Verstappen said straight after the qualifying session, which was red flagged for an incident between Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi and for a crash by Fernando Alonso.

"I think there's not been one lap where I actually felt confident, so a bit of a struggle. Of course, second is still a good result but just not feeling that great to go to the limit. We will try to analyse it."

"Probably in race pace everything stabilises a bit, but for me this weekend so far it has been all over the place.

"Of course, happy to be second, but I think also as a team we want more."

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Leclerc said he was surprised by his qualifying pace as he felt Albert Park was a track he struggled with in the past and revealed he hadn't been able to put a great lap together until it mattered in Q3.

"It felt good, even more because it's a track where I've always struggled in the past as a driver," the 2022 championship leader said.

"This weekend, we really worked hard. It was a bit messy for the three free practices session for me. I managed to do some good laps, but not everything together.

"In Q3 I managed to put everything together, so it feels great and I'm very happy to be starting on pole tomorrow.

"The car is nice to drive but the Red Bulls were very quick in FP2 during the long fuel run.

"To be honest we were quite surprised by our pace in qualifying, so everything is possible tomorrow. We just need to do a good start and then hopefully we can keep that first position."

Read Also:

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez qualified third just under a tenth behind the Dutchman, while Carlos Sainz could only muster ninth in the second Ferrari after having to abort his first flyer due to an unfortunately timed red flag.

shares
comments

Related video

Vettel slams "joke" Australian GP scooter fine

Alonso: Fight for Australian GP pole was on before Alpine hydraulics problem

What Perez's Jeddah joy means for the hopes of a real F1 title fight

What Perez's Jeddah joy means for the hopes of a real F1 title fight

Prime
Prime
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

What Perez's Jeddah joy means for the hopes of a real F1 title fight What Perez's Jeddah joy means for the hopes of a real F1 title fight

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Prime
Prime
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay

How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay

Prime
Prime
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay

The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off

The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off

Prime
Prime
Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
GP Racing

The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off

Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come

Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come

Prime
Prime
Formula 1
Jonathan Noble

Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come

How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem

How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem

Prime
Prime
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem

Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise

Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise

Prime
Prime
Formula 1
Adam Cooper

Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise

Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much

Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much

Prime
Prime
Formula 1
Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much