Verstappen: You have to do a lot to win

      Max Verstappen admits he's lagging behind his rivals, but he's optimistic.…

      Q: In the last laps in Melbourne, you were riding close behind Lando. Were you hoping to overtake?Max Verstappen: Lando lost a little bit in turn six, so I was there and I was able to use the DRS. I got close, but it's hard to overtake here. It was fun in the last laps, and it's always great to fight for victory, even though there's only one trajectory in the rain. But I'm glad that I was able to finish and earned a lot of points. It's a good start.

       Q: Tell us about the decision to stay on slicks when you suddenly found yourself leading the race.…Max Verstappen: Yes, it started to rain a little. The McLaren drivers went to the pits, but I decided to stay on the track. Everything was fine on the first lap, but then the weather got worse and I had to go to the pits. In the end, even if I had entered the pits a lap earlier, I would still have been second. But it was worth the risk. There were dangerous moments on the slicks a couple of times on the wet track, but everything worked out.

       Question: You certainly did your best. What about the car as a whole? Will it allow you to fight for victory in China?Max Verstappen: The result in Melbourne is about what I expected. We had a bit of a lack of pace in the first lap compared to McLaren, but I scored 18 points more than a year ago, which is not bad at all.

      The result is not bad compared to those who finished behind us. But when the tires started overheating in the first stretch, we didn't have a chance. The McLaren drivers just left. So we still have a lot to do to fight for victory. But yes, I'm happy that we came second. Basically, it's one place better than we should have been.

      This year, the intermediate tires have become softer and overheat even more easily. This is where we, and many other teams, have difficulties compared to McLaren. They are better able to do this task, but we need to work.