Disappointed Verstappen draws painful conclusion about new Red Bull

Max Verstappen has conceded that his new Red Bull RB21 will not be able to fight for victory in the F1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen has won the last two season-openers, both in Bahrain, and took pole last time out in Melbourne before retiring with a brake failure, but heads Down Under after a less than promising pre-season test for Red Bull.

The RB21 appears off the pace, with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all ahead, and even the resurgent Williams nipping at the heels of the Milton Keynes-based team. 

Looking ahead to the first race as he begins his fourth title defence, Verstappen feels he is not in contention for victory.

"[There is work to do]," Verstappen told a Viaplay event attended by RacingNews365. 

"I think McLaren is the favourite if you look at the lap times, and for us not everything went completely smoothly. 

"On the other hand, I think we do have some ideas on how to improve the car, I've also spent a lot of time in the simulator, for example, yesterday with the team.

"I don't think we can compete for victory in Melbourne, but hopefully we will be able to make improvements within a few races."

Verstappen also spoke briefly on the upgrades delivered to the RB21 over the winter, stating that Red Bull had expected a bigger leap forward.

"It's never good enough, of course, but I think we expected a tiny bit more from it ourselves," he added.

"After the test, you do have time to go through the data and come to certain conclusions, but as I said, I think we do need to improve some things."