Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing secured the pole position for the Formula 1 2024 Australian Grand Prix after making some unexpected adjustments to his car before the Q3 session. Despite their strong start to the season, Red Bull had been struggling against Ferrari at Albert Park. Verstappen had not been leading in any of the previous sessions, but he delivered two impressive laps to edge out Carlos Sainz for the top spot by 0.270s.
Verstappen admitted that he was taken aback by his pole position, stating that he was very happy with his performance in Q3. He described both of his laps as feeling really good and enjoyable. The weekend had been challenging for him so far, but he was pleased that they were able to come out on top in the end.
Although the car was subject to parc ferme regulations, Verstappen revealed that they made some subtle adjustments to the RB20 before Q3, which made a significant difference. He explained that finding a good balance in the car had been tough throughout the weekend, and even in the earlier qualifying sessions, he didn’t feel like he was fighting for pole position. However, the tweaks they made helped him push the car to its limit in Q3.
Verstappen acknowledged that there were still areas for improvement, but he was overall satisfied with his performance. He mentioned that Red Bull had to work harder to find the sweet spot on the car compared to the previous two weekends. Qualifying was still challenging for him in Q1 and Q2, but they made small adjustments throughout the session, which allowed him to push harder and make a difference.
Verstappen believes that Ferrari has narrowed the gap on Red Bull at this track but thinks that the teams’ different starts to the weekend distorted the competitive picture.
“It could be because we weren’t on top of things, but they seemed well dialed in from the beginning, while we had a bit of the opposite situation and managed to improve it.
“The race is going to be challenging with the softer tires we have this year. We will find out tomorrow.”
However, Verstappen, who missed part of FP2 due to a floor change, is cautious about Sainz being alongside him considering the promising race pace Ferrari showed in practice.
When asked if he felt unprepared due to the earlier disruptions, he replied, “Not really, we did quite a bit even this morning. So in that regard, I don’t think so.
“It’s just a bit more difficult to find a good balance in the car. We will find out tomorrow if it will be good enough in the race, as Ferrari also looks very fast and comfortable throughout the entire weekend. Hopefully, tomorrow’s race will be interesting.”