- Max Verstappen has poured cold water on his side’s Australian Grand Prix hopes
- It comes after Red Bull struggled to impress during testing in Bahrain
Max Verstappen has claimed that he does not think Red Bull will be able to challenge for victory at the Australian Grand Prix on April 2.
With multiple drivers threatening to dethrone Verstappen from his perch, the Dutchman has expressed concerns over how competitive Red Bull can be this year, following an underwhelming testing session in Bahrain.
‘I don’t think we can fight for the win already in Melbourne,’ the Dutchman said, according to Motorsport.com.
Despite that, he believes that the car can be finely tuned to perform in Melbourne better than other races around the Formula One circuit.
‘Everything (on the car) can be set up a little bit better in Melbourne than in Bahrain,’ he added.
While the 27-year-old picked up his fourth-consecutive world title last season, Lando Norris is now widely being backed to end his reign of dominance.
Max Verstappen has expressed doubts over whether Red Bull can be successful at this year’s Australian Open
It comes as a former Red Bull driver has thrown his support behind Aussie star Oscar Piastri (pictured)
And Verstappen concurs with those claims. When pressed on who could compete for the title this season, he added: ‘At the moment [there’s] only one, and that team is orange.’
‘That’s a very nice colour of course, but from our side, we still have work to do.
‘Other teams want to see some improvements as well, I think, so at the moment one team is clearly in front.
‘If you look at the lap times (from testing) then I think McLaren is the favourite.
‘On our side, not everything went completely smoothly, but on the other hand, we have some ideas on how to improve.’
Verstappen has won just once in his career in Australia, in 2023.
Meanwhile, one former Red Bull star believes Oscar Piastri can end Australia’s Grand Prix woe.
Noting McLaren’s brilliance over the past 12 months, Sebastian Vettel has told The Herald Sun that Piastri ‘is doing a phenomenal job.’
Verstappen sees McLaren as Red Bull’s main competitors this season, with Red Bull struggling to impress in Bahrian testing over the off-season
Despite that, Verstappen believes the Red Bull car can be fine tuned to perform better in Melbourne
‘We mustn’t forget that it’s only his third season he’s going into now,’ he added.
In fact, Piastri, 24, could become the first Australian to win the title since Alan Jones in 1980.
Jones, along with Jack Brabham are the only two Aussie drivers to have won a world title and Vettel believes Piastri could follow in their suit.
‘He could be a serious contender maybe already this year if McLaren gives him the car and he’s able to step up again like he did after his first season you could have a world champion, it’s been a while since you had one.’
