"I think we shouldn’t have been on pole in Melbourne": Max Verstappen's cagey response to Red Bull's prospects in Japan

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has claimed that he 'shouldn’t have been on pole in Melbourne' after retiring from the main race at the Albert Park Circuit.

The three-time world champion's streak of points-scoring races came to an end in Melbourne after his car suffered a rear right brake failure leading to his retirement. His DNF also ended his nine consecutive race wins, starting from Japan 2023 to Saudi Arabia 2024.

As per PlanetF1, while previewing the Japanese GP, Max Verstappen responded that he shouldn't be on the pole position in Australia and only achieved that after doing multiple 'good laps'. He said:

“So far good but of course everyone has a bit of different characteristics in their cars as well, you know, so it’s not a given that we will be really, really competitive like last year. But I’m excited, it’s a track that I really enjoy.

“I know that I’m confident with the car, I feel good. Especially I think we shouldn’t have been on pole [in Melbourne] but the laps that we did were really good. So I just want to have a good weekend again and feel good with the car.”

Max Verstappen chimes in on his keenness to win in Japan last year

Max Verstappen has stated that he was 'very keen' to win at the Suzuka International Circuit last year as he had lost his 10-race win streak in Singapore a race before Japan.

In his interview with ViaPlay at the end of the 2023 season, the Red Bull driver said (via GPBlog):

"I was very keen to win there. Singapore obviously didn't go well at all for us and people said, 'Yes, that's because of that front wing.' Yes, just wait. You'll see in Japan that it's not. I also said to my engineer and Christian: 'In Japan, we are going to finish everyone.'"

"I said before lap 1, full on the limit. I said to the media in Singapore: 'We are going to win with a 20-second lead.' Well, that ended up being 19.3. I was very disappointed after the race because I drove that second stint very calmly, actually. Just not on the limit."

The Dutch driver was untouchable from the first laps in the FP1 session and never looked back as he dominated the field and won unchallenged.

Heading into Suzuka this weekend, Max Verstappen would hope for something similar as his winning streak has been halted by Carlos Sainz once again.