Max Verstappen rubbishes George Russell’s sandbagging claims: “We just try to do the best we can”

Max Verstappen has denied claims that Red Bull Racing are deliberately holding back the full potential of their cars.

Red Bull have begun the 2023 Formula 1 season in dominant fashion, taking victory in Bahrain, Australia (both Verstappen) and Saudi Arabia (Sergio Perez). They sit on top of the constructors' standings with 123 points, while both their drivers occupy the top two spots in the drivers' standings.

Speaking after the Australian Grand Prix, George Russell opined that even though Red Bull have a clear pace advantage, they aren't unleashing their car's full potential as they don't want the FIA to step in and do something that would negate their advantage.

Responding to the Mercedes driver's statement, Verstappen stated that Red Bull were just concerned about tire life in Australia, as it was “not necessary” to risk the hard tires wearing out.

Speaking on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast, he said:

“I mean, I think anyway, there’s nothing really they can do. I mean, we just try to do the best we can with the development of the car, but it’s also about pace management, because we didn’t really know – I think no-one really knew – how long that hard tyre would last.”

He added:

“So it’s about just bringing it home because we had a bit of pace I think over the others, and there’s no need to try and gain half a second a lap and destroy your tyres to the end because you never know, a Safety Car can happen, red flags, like we had today. So yeah, it’s not necessary to risk all that.”

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Max Verstappen defends conservative start to 2023 Australian GP, states rules were not followed in first lap overtake

Max Verstappen said he was trying to be extra cautious at the start of the Australian GP, which led to his slow start to the race.

Verstappen was passed by George Russell on the first turn, and Lewis Hamilton followed suit at the next braking point. Speaking about his tepid start, he told Sky Sports:

"My lap one wasn't amazing, but I know that we have a quick car, so there is no need to be aggressive and risk damage on the car. The others realised their chance is the other way around, so that is why they were aggressive, which is fair enough. I would probably do the same if it was the other way around."

Speaking about Hamilton's overtake on lap 1, the Red Bull driver opined:

"From my side, I just tried to avoid contact. It's quite clear in the rules what you're allowed to do on the outside, but clearly it's not followed. It's okay; we had good pace, and we passed them anyway, but it's something for the next race to take into account. It's great to win here - my first first win - it's been a while for the team as well, so very very happy."