Verstappen Eyes Melbourne ‘Surprise’

Max Verstappen was happy with Red Bull’s showing in pre-season testing and hopes they can make a splash at the Australian Grand Prix.

Red Bull will once again be trying to bridge the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari this year, with Verstappen joined by 23-year-old French flyer Pierre Gasly.

However, the Dutchman is top dog at the Milton Keynes-based marque and the driver they will be hoping can secure a chequered flag or two during 2019.

The opening race of the campaign is on March 16 and Verstappen sees positives from Barcelona. “Except for the last day, it went well,” he said on Ziggo Sport.

“We had a few small issues, otherwise we could have done more laps. But we made more than enough kilometres.”

The 21-year-old feels they have given the cars a decent workout in Spain and now wants to ruffle a few feathers Down Under.

“Over the years we have lost a lot of points because we did not drive enough kilometres,” he added. “Then we found out during races that certain things failed.

Not only in the power unit but also in our chassis. This year we have done a lot of laps, so we do not have to be afraid of that. “I hope we can surprise on Saturday in Melbourne.”