Australian GP
Three red flags, four safety cars and a bizarre ending caused by a hole in the sporting regulations created lots of distraction on a sunny race day in Albert Park. But they didn’t really alter much. The story of the weekend as a component of this championship was that Max Verstappen had a near-perfect weekend and his team-mate Sergio Pérez had something of a nightmare. ‘Checo’ came into the weekend only one point behind and left it trailing by 15.
As outlined here last month, the dynamics at Red Bull are different this year – at least at this stage of the season – as it’s clear that Pérez is Verstappen’s only feasible challenger for a third consecutive world title, such is the advantage of the RB19. Pérez was setting out his stall early in the Melbourne weekend, saying on Thursday: “When I first came to the team things were very different. Basically, they were just going racing with two cars because they had to, you know. I can say now that I really feel part of the team, really feel I have my place and am well respected. I think that’s something good to have as a driver and I really believe I have
