16/03/2025
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen: "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. 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."
Liam Lawson: "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. 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."
Christian Horner: "That was a great race. It was always going to be tricky in those conditions. I think strategically we called it right; Max had a very good start but the McLarens at that time were super strong and pulled out a gap. Then the rain came and we made the right call to get out on the slicks at the right time and we took a slight gamble to get the over cut. It nearly worked and then we had the restart and Max so very nearly stole it off Lando. Credit to him and McLaren though, they stuck it out and took the victory. It was not the start Liam would have wanted this weekend. Luck was not on his side. He is a strong driver though and will already be on his way to preparing for China; bouncing back. All in all, it was a good start to the season at a track we traditionally do not perform well at. China will be a bit more measured and will be a chance to see a truer reflection of performance. Excited to see what comes."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Albert Park here.