Verstappen: The gap from McLaren is quite large

      In the first qualifying of the season in Melbourne, Max Verstappen clocked the third time, losing only to rivals from McLaren. The reigning world champion did not deny that he was pleased with the result, considering how the race weekend was going for him.

      His teammate Liam Lawson ended the fight in the first session by driving off the track during a crucial fast lap.

      Max Verstappen (3rd): "Good qualifying. Yesterday it was quite difficult for us, and today we are the third. I accept this result.

      The qualifying rounds turned out to be exciting. On this track, high grip and fast turns are an interesting combination to drive. Nevertheless, I never had the feeling that we had squeezed the maximum out of the tires, but from the point of view of fighting for the position, it didn't matter because the gap to McLaren was quite large.

      I'm ready for both a dry and a wet race. A lot of unexpected things can happen in the rain, as the track will be slippery, but everything is on an equal footing."

      Liam Lawson (18th): "We expected the start of qualifying to be difficult. To be honest, I had assumed in advance that I would be behind in the first laps, but we expected to gradually pick up the pace as the session progressed. On the second lap, I found myself off the track, and everything didn't go according to plan.

      The last fast lap was good until the last sector, when the tires lost efficiency dramatically. Skipping the third training session didn't exactly help, but I still shouldn't have dropped out of the first session."

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