Max Verstappen dismisses Red Bull Australian GP reliability concerns

Max Verstappen ahead of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull

Verstappen dismisses Red Bull reliability concerns for Australian GP

Sam Hall

Saturday 1 April 2023 10:31 Updated: 11:04

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Max Verstappen has denied feeling concerned over Red Bull's reliability after reporting various issues during qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman scored his second pole position of the season, with a one-minute 16.792secs putting him 0.236s clear of George Russell's Mercedes.

Despite maintaining Red Bull's perfect qualifying record for the season, Verstappen gave the impression that all was not well in the cockpit of his RB19, reporting downshifts and the battery.

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Asked if reliability is a concern for Sunday's race, he said: "No, normally not. I think we just always try to fine-tune and we'll continue to do that."

A 'tough' weekend

Qualifying was a considerably stranger affair than usual with drivers remaining on the same set of tyres for the majority of each session as the rubber continued to yield pace.

"I think the last run was very good," added the Red Bull driver.

"The whole weekend, it has been very tough to get the tyres in the right window to push straightaway but it all worked out in Q3.

"I'm very happy with the lap and of course, very happy to be on pole position. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow really.

"I've been on the podium once but I want to be on a different step this time."