Max Verstappen was left frustrated after the promising early pace during the Australian Grand Prix was rewarded with only a tenth place finish on Sunday.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver was running inside the top four in the early stages of the Grand Prix around Albert Park, and was able to keep the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton behind him without too many problems, but an error in strategy saw him drop down the order.
Verstappen was left to battle team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr over the closing laps, but hit the Spaniard’s car and spun around at the penultimate corner and was forced to settle for tenth at the chequered flag.
“Quite a frustrating afternoon,” said Verstappen. “We had a great start to the race and were able to keep the Mercedes behind. The first pit-stop was also good.
“We had great pace and I didn’t have pressure from behind, but after the red flag we had a bit of a miscommunication for the second stop and it got very difficult. We have a fantastic car and to finish P10 here is not where we should be.
“I’m very disappointed as this was a great opportunity for us to get a very good result. Now we just need to focus on the next race and try and score more points than today.”
