Max previews Australia: "Hoping we can be competitive from the start"

Published on 16 March 2018 by Bryan van Berlo

Next week, the 2018 season will kick off with the Australian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen previews the race in Melbourne:

“I always enjoy going to Melbourne, I like the country and the temperature which is always a welcome change compared to Europe at this time of year. The fans are very passionate about racing and especially Formula 1 as it has a great history in Australia. I have only visited Melbourne and Sydney so far. I definitely want to explore the country a bit more as I’m sure I would enjoy much more of it."

"The Dutchman also tells about the street circuit: "Albert Park is not the easiest track to overtake on, we will try our best but the straights are not quite long enough and a lot of the corners leading to the straights are 90 degrees, this makes it hard to set-up a pass. Turns 11 and 12 are the fastest corners and really cool to drive, especially in Qualifying with low fuel in sixth or seventh gear, I think it is about 270 kilometres per hour. The trees around the circuit sometimes make your braking markers hard to spot with shadows, it’s quite normal on a street circuit but makes it more challenging for us to get it right."

Max finishes with: "We are hoping to have made a large step forward this year and be competitive from the start, to have a fast car from Race 1 and continue for the rest of the season would be great.”

Click here for the Australian GP contest and win a 1:18 RB13 Australian GP 2017 scale model!