Verstappen reveals why McLaren are currently the field-leading team

Having ended the season-opening Australian Grand Prix second, reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen has revealed the areas in which the field-leading McLaren are better currently that Red Bull.

Following a strong showing in qualifying, Max Verstappen overtook Oscar Piastri at the start only to put pressure on Lando Norris. However, the Dutchman was unable to keep up with the McLaren as tyre degradation kicked in, and he started to drop back after Piastri retook P2.

When the late rain arrived, he stayed out and inherited the lead, but with more rain coming in, he was also forced to pit, losing the lead to Norris. Despite the slight setback, he wound up a still very decent second which was a promising result on a weekend when McLaren clearly looked the dominant force.

“It was a good result for us and an enjoyable but hectic race. The conditions were fairly difficult and slippery but we managed to keep it out of the wall and stay out of trouble, which was the most important thing, so I am happy with that.

Asked about McLaren's strengths, Verstappen said: “It was hard for us to pass the McLarens, and we were struggling with the tyres overheating and tyre degradation. I think this is even more evident on intermediates as the compound is even softer than the slicks. They were better at controlling the temperature of the tyres and were pulling away from us quite easily, so it will help a lot if we work to keep our tyres in a better window.

“However, we scored 18 more points than we did last time we were in Melbourne, so this is an improvement on last year and was fun in the end. Even if we pitted later we would have been P2 so I am happy with the result.

“We only have a few days before we are in China so not sure how much we will be able to find and turn around but will work hard to improve. Again, it is the first race of the season and we went for it and learnt a lot, so this is a positive start."

Lawson was eager to make his way back through the field, but spun and hit the wall in the dying stages of the race, ended his first race for Red Bull in a disappointing fashion.

“This whole weekend was pretty terrible. Today we were too slow at the start and then we gambled. It nearly worked, but it wasn’t to be. Starting from the pitlane was tough and we just didn’t really have the speed in the first stint on the inter.

“We struggled with the fronts too much, so we will analyse and look at that in detail before the next race. On slick tyres it was quite competitive for that couple of laps but then it started raining again. We took a chance staying out on the medium and hoping half the track would stay dry."

Lawson continued: “We knew that sector three was bad but we thought sector one would stay a little bit drier, so we risked it but it was bucketing down with rain. At that point I had backed out of pushing because it was so wet and I was just trying to stay on track.

“It has been a pretty horrible weekend and a struggle as a whole, but we take plenty of learning. For that I am grateful and I am just looking forward to going to China and resetting."