Max Verstappen gives ‘crazy’ warning after qualifying miles ahead of Lewis Hamilton at Australian GP

Max Verstappen embraced for a challenging Australian GP after being much quicker than Lewis Hamilton on Sunday.

Max Verstappen gives ‘crazy’ warning after qualifying miles ahead of Lewis Hamilton at Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton (via Getty), Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

The 2025 Formula 1 season is underway. Qualifying at the Australian GP was an exciting affair with some major surprises for fans. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was one of the drivers who managed to impress viewers after shocking qualifying far ahead of Ferrari drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. The Dutch driver has now signaled for an even thrilling race on Sunday.

The reigning world champion was the sole Red Bull in the Top 10 shootout after Liam Lawson was knocked out in Q1. This put even more pressure on Max Verstappen as he battled for the top spot against Ferrari and McLaren. Nevertheless, Verstappen managed to keep his cool and qualified in third place right behind the two McLarens.

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The main race on Sunday is expected to be in wet conditions. Max Verstappen claimed that rain could make things challenging for drivers as ‘crazy’ things always happen in such conditions. Moreover, the reigning world champion emphasized that Albert Park could get quite slippery tomorrow. Though, he noted that he was looking forward to see how things pan out in the Grand Prix.

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Dry or wet, in the wet crazy things can happen and around here it could be quite slippery but it is the same for everyone so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Max Verstappen said

On the other hand, things were worse for Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion failed to make a mark during his debut Qualifying outing for the Scuderia, and finished the session in eighth place. While Leclerc qualified ahead of Hamilton in P7.

Max Verstappen happy with P3 in Qualifying

Verstappen and Red Bull faced a difficult preseason with rivals seemingly ahead of the RB21 in terms of performance. The reigning world champion had no real expectations for fighting for victory this weekend in Melbourne. Nevertheless, the 27-year-old is feeling positive following Qualifying.

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

Max Verstappen insisted that he did have a good outing during the session. He pointed out that the team faced a tough time during free practice on Friday. As such, the four-time world champion was content with starting the race from third place. Additionally, Verstappen claimed that he enjoyed putting in lap times during Qualifying after getting good grip on the track.

Yeah, it was good, yesterday was quite tough so for us to be P3 today, I’d take that. Quali laps are exciting, good grip around here and some fast corners.

Max Verstappen said

Max Verstappen understands how quick the RB21 is compared to the rest of the grid after the session. The Dutchman would certainly be glad to have been much quicker than Ferrari. However, now the 27-year-old will prepare himself for the race on Sunday. He might potentially try to compete with the two McLarens for victory.