Max Verstappen offers DIRE Australian GP verdict as Red Bull chief admits unexpected problems

Reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has offered a dire verdict on his chances of being quickest at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix later this month.

The Red Bull star heads into 2025 with the chance to make it five consecutive titles on the bounce. However, while a strong start played a key part in his 2024 championship win, it does not sound as though he will be making such a fast start this time around.

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Following three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain, McLaren appear to hold the advantage heading into the 2025 season, with Ferrari and Mercedes also looking impressive.

However, Red Bull had a trickier three days in Sakhir, with Verstappen's team-mate Liam Lawson’s full day of running on Thursday interrupted by the rain and then a loss of engine water pressure that saw him return to the garage.

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Are Red Bull going to win the Australian GP?

Verstappen has since revealed his concern ahead of F1’s season-opener in Australia, and claimed the team still had work to do whilst also arguing Red Bull would ‘not be fastest’ in Melbourne.

“There were a few small issues, but overall, we completed a lot of what we wanted to do,” Max Verstappen said in a Red Bull press release after pre-season testing.

“I think it was not bad, but at the same time, there is still some work to do. We probably won’t be the fastest in Melbourne.”

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Red Bull’s technical director, Pierre Wache, also echoed Verstappen’s sentiments.

“It wasn’t as smooth a test as we and the team expected, but it’s better to find problems here,” added Waché.

“That’s why we test, we want to understand the car better. I’m not as happy as I could be, because sometimes the car didn’t respond as we wanted.

“Nevertheless, it’s going in the right direction, although maybe we didn’t expect such problems with this new design.

"That’s something we need to work on for our future development.”

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