With teams and drivers arriving in Melbourne for this weekend's season opening Australian Grand Prix, a lot is being said about how the new rules and regulations will shake the grid. There has also been talk of teams sandbagging during testing to try and fool their rivals into thinking that they really aren't as strong as they are, something we will only find out on Saturday when they pull out all the stops in qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton has already gone on record stating that he believes Red Bull Racing will be a real threat this season, however Max Verstappen, who is about to begin his first full season with Red Bull, doesn't think they will be up there with Mercedes in the fight for pole on Saturday afternoonโฆ..
"It is always hard to say who now has the better car, but it is very obvious that Ferrari is stronger than last year, Mercedes is always up there as well. I think that they are not showing their true potential. The past years that was also the case," he said on his personal website.
"For us, it's hard to say. Personally, I think that we aren't the best team yet, but we need to wait and see. After qualifying in Australia we will be able to see how it is, based purely on speed. In any case, we are not heading off to Melbourne with the thought of being able to take pole."
"At this moment, I think that Ferrari and Mercedes will be at the front, but hopefully, like last year, we'll gradually get into a better rhythm. We can do better, compared to last year, albeit we need to work hard to achieve that. In any case, I will do my best and we will see where we stand."
