Max Verstappen is refusing to make any predictions for Red Bull’s performance at the Australian Grand Prix.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit had a mixed winter, completing plenty of miles with new engine supplier Honda but not setting any remarkable lap times, certainly compared to Mercedes and Ferrari.
As a result, Verstappen is having to take a patient approach ahead of Melbourne.
“I just try to get the best out of myself, but I’ll have to wait and see with the engine and the car, so until Australia you can not really set goals,” he told Motorsport.com.
“You are actually blind. In F1 you are so dependent on the package you get. It does not make much sense to worry about that. That does not mean that I do not want to get the best out of myself and the team, but it is, therefore, a matter of waiting.”
In his Red Bull preview for the opening race, Verstappen also noted some of the challenges that Australia throws up.
“Albert Park is an interesting track, it’s actually quite bumpy and has a lot of fast corners, so it’s fun when you have a well-balanced car there,” he said.
It’s not the easiest circuit to overtake on as the straights aren’t quite long enough which makes it hard to set-up a pass, but it’s always possible.
“If we look at our longer runs from testing, our performance seems pretty promising and we hope to be competitive from the beginning of the year.
“Overall, I think we have a pretty good package, but we won’t know where we are until we get into the race weekend and see if we have closed the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari.”
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Looking to the season as a whole, if the RB15 is a match for its rivals, then the Dutchman does think he has a good chance of challenging.
“You never know when you are ready [to fight for the championship] because the differences between F1 cars are so great,” he claimed.
“I am sure that I can compete with Lewis [Hamilton] or Sebastian [Vette], but you must have the right equipment. “
