Max previews Australian GP: 'Exciting to get out racing again'

Published on 04 March 2026 by Niels Hendrix

Max Verstappen has arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday evening, ahead of Formula 1’s season opener. Looking ahead to the Australian Grand Prix, the Dutch Oracle Red Bull Racing driver says: “It will be great to be back on track and start up the season, it has felt like a long build up to this point and it is exciting to finally get out racing again.”

“In Bahrain, seeing the car with our own power unit getting in so many laps was very impressive: there were a lot of proud faces seeing it go out for the first time and the team have done a great job. We’ve been driving the car in the simulator for such a long time, so when it was finally time to come back and see the car ready to go, I did get goosebumps.”

“Now is the real test. Looking to Melbourne, I don’t know how it is all going to play out, but we have been learning a lot and working on optimising the car as best we can. Obviously, this track has many great memories for me, especially driving my first ever F1 race here. But this year will be a particularly exciting challenge and I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes.”