Max Verstappen seemed like a content man after the two practice sessions in Melbourne today as the Red Bull showed signs of improvement and being close to Mercedes in terms of engine power and raw speed.
Hamilton clocked the best lap time of the test today with Verstappen trailing him by just 0.127 seconds.
However, Verstappen still feels that the Red Bull is a little behind Mercedes especially in the ‘straights’. And thus Verstappen hopes that the wet weather can mask that engine deficit for Red Bull.
“It’s not so engine dependent when it is wet. It’s just a bit more tricky to go on power and stuff, and our car is quite well in the wet and I enjoy myself as well. Hopefully tomorrow will be wet.” Verstappen said.
Reporters questioned him about the apparent three way fight between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull and how it was shaping up, to which Verstappen had a clear cut answer saying that it was too early to make a call.
“I don’t know yet. We have to wait. This is one Grand Prix but I think we need at least two or three Grands Prix to really see what’s going on. Even then, it’s all about the development rate of the car.” Verstappen said.
Rain is predicted for qualifying tomorrow and also for the race day on Sunday and if the forecast indeed comes true, Red Bull could be in with a chance to secure pole position, as the wet weather would bring down Mercedes’ engine superiority.
