Max Verstappen has won practically everything there is to win in recent races and yet the Red Bull Racing driver manages to surprise experts and fans time and time again, including F1TV analyst Alex Brundle. The 33-year-old son of former F1 driver Martin Brundle watched Verstappen’s qualifying performance with great awe, but the Brit also paid compliments to his teammate Sergio Pérez.
Verstappen and the RB20 were not each other’s best friends throughout the weekend in Melbourne, but in Q3 the reigning world champion once again left no stone unturned in the competition. Both of his laps in the final qualifying section had been more than enough for pole position, but almost everyone had expected a Ferrari driver at the front, including Verstappen himself. It is therefore not surprising that Brundle also did not see Verstappen’s performance in Q3 coming.
“I don’t know where he manages to save that time,” the F1TV analyst praised the performance of the Dutchman after qualifying at the Albert Park Circuit, who managed to score his third pole position in 2024 on Saturday. ‘You hear him complaining about understeer in Q1 and he is also struggling a bit in Q2. And suddenly at the start of Q3 he has a gap of about four tenths on the rest,” Brundle cannot hide his surprise. “It’s so incredibly impressive to see him perform like that towards the end of qualifying.”
Pérez also impresses
Given his impressive performances, it is not surprising that people often talk about the Dutchman, but in the shadow of Verstappen, Pérez is also having an excellent season, according to Brundle. “We’re seeing a lot more consistency with him at the start of this year. He looks calm and he seems to have the situation much better under control,” notes the 33-year-old, who makes a comparison with last season. ‘I remember how he got out of the car in Suzuka last year after having a few incidents. The Sergio (Pérez, ed.) we see now is more focused and much more consistent. Even though he is still a few tenths slower than Verstappen,” said Brundle.
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