Verstappen: “I hope no bird bothers me!”

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So far Red Bull has only won once here on the other side of the world – in 2011 with Vettel. “We have to change that”, laughs the Flying Dutchman, followed by a surprising sentence: “I hope no bird disturbs me. I love all animals, but here they fly through the air quite wildly!”

For Red Bull it is only half an anniversary to celebrate: Pérez, who won in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, has to start from the last starting position. As he did three times in third practice, the Mexican slid into the gravel trap in qualifying as the brakes failed. So Red Bull managed to avoid at least one stable order in the 58 laps today…

Who explains the Alfa-Sauber debacle?

And who will start at the back next to Pérez? Yes, it’s Bottas’ Alfa-Sauber. And to add to the Hinwiler’s nightmare, the Finnish teammate Zhou from China is right in front of him!

This result with the new parts on the car requires explanation. But you don’t get that, even though Alfa-Sauber was once the fastest to distribute the press release!

But in addition to the drivers, team representative and house lawyer Bravi did not speak a clear language. Only apologies and cries of hope for the race! Well, then we’ll wait and see with the surely disappointed fans.

The resurrection of Mercedes

Mercedes caused the big surprise with starting positions two and three! Russell (2nd): “When you’re that close, you want pole too!”

Hamilton, last in Saudi Arabia in 2021 and without a win in 25 races: “I am happy for George. Our result proves that we are slowly rising to the top. We are working hard, including on track on Sunday, to give these one-off fans their money’s worth!”

More than 122,000 spectators came on Friday and more than 150,000 on Saturday. Former US President Barack Obama was not there. While he invited Hamilton to dinner on Thursday, he prefers to visit the winelands in and around Melbourne in addition to speaking.

Vasseur with back pain

Ferrari caused another disappointment with places 5 and 7. The reds – like Mercedes – have never been on the podium in 2023. But team boss Vasseur has the biggest problem: despite severe back pain, he flew the 18,000 kilometers to Australia when he should have rested for weeks.

Aston Martin is lurking

The green monsters of Aston Martin-Mercedes are hot again: 4th Alonso (twice on the podium) and 6th Stroll. Behind the nearly invincible Bulls, can the team claim second place in the World Championship today?

Ahead and without points: McLaren-Mercedes. Norris slipped into the field in 13th – new national hero Oscar Piastri (21) will start alongside Zhou from the penultimate row. The orange cars need a large rear wing to enter corners quickly. But McLaren opens a parachute on the straights. A vicious circle.

Source : Blick