Max Verstappen “surprised” to take P3 in the Australian GP qualifying after the “hard” start for the weekend

Max Verstappen admitted that he was “surprised” to secure P3 in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix after experiencing a “hard” opening day on Friday at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit.

Red Bull had a reserved start during the first training sessions in Melbourne, with the Dutch ending the day more than six tenths of the speed festival Charles Leclerc in Ferrari.

Read more: Norris storms into the pole position for the Australian Grand Prix in front of Piatri and Verstappen

But Verstappen seemed a lot to be in the mix on Saturday and demanded the provisional pole position in the third quarter before it was sold by the McLarens by Lando Norris and Oscar Piatri.

When asked about qualifying as to whether the car had progressed at the weekend, Verstappen admitted: “Yes, I think so. We had a difficult start. This was never really a good way for us, so it took a little time to understand how we can improve the situation, and we did that today.