Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had a valiant run for pole which came just short as the Dutchman will have to settle for second. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc snatched the pole position from the Red Bull driver in his last attempt. This means the defending F1 champion is still without a pole position this season.

After a brilliant comeback in the second half of his sixth lap, Verstappen couldn’t quite hold on to the lead. This means, for the third consecutive time, Max will start the race behind Charles in the pecking order.

Talking about this in a post-qualification interview, Max conveyed, “For me, this weekend so far has been all over the place, I’m happy to be second, but as a team, we want more.” Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez finished right behind him in P3.

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How did Max Verstappen fare in Australia so far?

The practices were decent for the Dutchman on Friday. With good performances both on FP1 and FP2, it looked like Max was a strong candidate for the pole on Saturday. Moreover, the RB-18 looked stronger than any other car on the track except for the Ferraris.

Despite some good laps in FP3 earlier, the 24-year-old reported discomfort. On top of that, Albert Park had golden hour right on top. Several drivers requested a darker visor for better visibility. Among them was Max Verstappen. Mad Max asserted on this, “Mate, I can’t see ****** with the sun, it’s unbelievable. Completely blinded!”

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Fans anticipate yet another exciting Max Verstappen-Charles Leclerc battle tomorrow. With Verstappen following Charles close behind in P3 in the drivers’ championship, can he close the 20 points gap he has with the Monegasque? We’ll get to see it tomorrow.