Verstappen gets compliments on racing style after second place in Australia
F1 News
- Savannah Lenz
Despite not winning the first race of the 2025 season and losing his 1,029-day championship lead, Max Verstappen can be satisfied with his second-place finish. Unfortunately, the McLaren and Lando Norris were too fast for the rest of the grid. However, Verstappen finished within a second of the new championship leader. Former Formula 1 driver Christijan Albers saw the start of Verstappen's drive, he told the Telegraaf Formula 1 podcast.
Verstappen grandiose away in Australia
At the start of the Australian Grand Prix, Verstappen was off to an excellent start. The Red Bull driver was faster than Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, overtaking Piastri immediately. However, he was unable to overtake Norris as he could have been trapped by the wet track. Albers has words of praise for the Dutchman after the start.
Albers hands out compliments to Verstappen
"You just notice that fighter's mentality from Max, which I think is nice to see. Even if you analyse his start, he got away well but then got a bit tangled up on the side. If it had been dry, he would have put himself 100 per cent next to Norris on the outside. Then the two of them would have gone into the first corner, but now, of course, it's raining, so the one on the inside has less control in the corner," Albers explained.
"Then again, I think Max is a genius, and that capacity is at the top, is that he can change gears immediately, and in such a way he slows down the speed so he can then line it up again properly. Then I sometimes think: don't other drivers dream of this? You can clearly see that Verstappen's karting style comes back then," Albers concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Esteban den Toom.
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