Max starts from P4 in Australia: "We are close to Ferrari, that's positive"

Published on 24 March 2018 by Raymond Snip

Max Verstappen will start the Australian Grand Prix from the second row. The fast Dutchman drove to P4 in an exciting qualifying. Lewis Hamilton was the quickest at the Albert Park Street Circuit in Melbourne. Kimi Raikkonen finished second in his Ferrari, followed by his teammate Sebastian Vettel in third place.

"We built it up smoothly and I think it went pretty well today", says Max after the session. "And yes, Lewis, you know that they open the engine at Mercedes and there’s not much you can do. In my last lap in Q3 I made a mistake in turn 13 where I lost two tenths. That messed up my final two turns because the tires are overheated. But we are close to Ferrari and that is positive."

Max is not so confident about his opportunities during the race: "We have to wait and see if we, with the super soft tires, have made the right choice for the race. For us it is probably the best choice based on what we saw yesterday. And so, we have to see. The tires are a bit harder, so the first laps are a bit trickier, but you can not overtake anyway so if you’re a second slower than that does’nt matter. But hopefully we can continue a little longer. "

While in the third free practice earlier in the day it was still wet in Melbourne, the qualifying session starts dry and under a blue sky. The probability of rain in this session is estimated at 30 percent while rookies Sergey Sirotkin and Charles Leclerc prepare for their first qualifying in Formula 1. Nico Hülkenberg gets out first in his Renault with a whole train of cars on his tail. The drivers of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing are the last ones in the pits.

When both Red Bulls appear on track, the two Ferraris are on P1 and P2. Moments later, both Mercedes cars nestle in between the two Ferraris. Moments later Daniel Ricciardo drives to P2 behind Kimi Raikkonen and right behind him, Max follows his teammate on P3. The top teams all drive several fast laps which brings Hamilton to P1 while Max takes P4 from Ricciardo. At the end of Q1 the top-eight is in the pits and the rest is fighting for preservation. In the end Sirotkin, Pierre Gasly, Marcus Ericsson, Charles Leclerc and Brendon Hartley are eliminated in Q1.

When the lights go green at the start of Q2, Max reports first on track. Under his Red Bull a set of super soft tires. Also Ricciardo has the super soft tires under his RB14. Mercedes and Ferrari are underway on the ultra soft tires. Red Bull Racing opts for a different strategy. Max is crossing the finish line as P1 but is later passed by Raikkonen who in turn sees Hamilton take it away. After the first run, Max is on P5 with Ricciardo on P6.

Verstappen and Ricciardo also opted for super-soft tires during their second run. They will be able to plan a later pit stop during the race on Sunday than the competition. At the end of Q2, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, and both McLaren drivers can hit the shower.

The Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing drivers all are out soon after the start of Q3. Early on the session is stopped by a code red due to a crash by Valtteri Bottas. The Finn lost control of his Mercedes in the first chicane on the curbs and ends up backwards in the tire barrier causing a lot of damage. "I'm fine", Bottas lets his team know through the radio and with that he is done for today.

At the restart, Ricciardo is first on track with following behind Hamilton, Max and the Ferraris. Hamilton is the first to set a time: 1.22.0 Max follows P2 on 61 thousandths. Moments later Vettel puts his Ferrari on P2 and with that Max sinks to P3. "I need more grip", Max explains on the radio.

In the second run Hamilton improves first and strengthens his position. Moments later Raikkonen climbs to P2 and Max improves despite a small error in turn 13, and stays on P3 until Vettel pushes him out of the top-three. P4 for Max after the first qualifying session of the year.

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Results qualifying Australia: