Red Bull on back foot at F1 Australian GP

Max Verstappen says Red Bull’s lowly position in Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix pecking order, following Friday practice, is no surprise to him.

Verstappen was sixth-fastest in Free Practice 2, 0.637s slower than pacesetter Oscar Piastri and 0.423s behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, while his deficit to Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was 0.316s.

This is in line with the pre-season time sheet, as Red Bull also had the fourth-quickest car over the six days of running in Bahrain, so Verstappen is not overly surprised by his current performance.

“We had quite a decent pre-season,” the four-time world champion said on Friday. “It's been, I think, a big learning curve but we've been running well, we've been doing a lot of laps, so there's actually not really a lot that we could have wished for that could have gone better.

“But in terms of performance, I don't know, I think we still have quite a bit of work to do to be up front, but this is also something that I had already planned, for it to be like that.”

Verstappen’s lack of pace was compounded by an issue with his electronic control box, which meant he didn’t venture out on track in the first 25 minutes of FP2. He went on to have a high-speed excursion in the gravel trap at the exit of Turn 10, with debris flying out of his car.

Asked whether he could challenge Mercedes and how much would be revealed on a power-sensitive track like Albert Park, as energy management has become crucial in F1’s new era, Verstappen replied: “We'll see what happens, right? I'm not really too fussed about it.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images)

“I mean, I just try to do my best, and like I said before, we're positive, we're happy with what we have done so far – but we also know that if we really want to fight up front, we need to be faster, so that's what we'll work on.”

Having been quite critical of F1’s 2026 machinery, Verstappen was unfazed on Friday, adding: “If I have to race a shopping trolley, I drive it to the limit of what a shopping trolley can do.”

Meanwhile, the Dutchman’s new team-mate, Isack Hadjar, ended up nearly six tenths adrift of the lead RB22.

“Reliability has been good, but in terms of consistency, every lap in FP2 has been quite difficult, in terms of deployment and everything. But we'll look into it. It cannot go smooth on day one, so it's normal,” Hadjar said in reassuring fashion.

Still, the French sophomore’s lack of experience might be hindering him.

“This year it feels like not enough practice going into qualifying. There's still so much unknown. I wish I had more laps to understand what's going on with the PU,” he admitted.