Admitting that the RB21 isn't currently the fastest car on the grid, Max Verstappen hasn't entirely given up hope.

Not only did the team's pre-season test times leave a little to be desired, Liam Lawson's sole race sim was around a second a lap slower than Lando Norris.

As id that wasn't bad enough, the Austrian outfit also completed the fewest laps.

Whether he is simply putting a brave face on things as he ponders his chances - and future career moves - Max Verstappen doesn't appear to have given up on 2025 completely.

"I know that we are not the quickest at the moment," he told reporters in Melbourne. "But, again, it's a very long season.

"If you would have asked that question here last year and at the end of the season again, you know, it would look completely different," he added.

"A lot of things can always change quite quickly in Formula 1," he continued. "I guess we'll find out more this weekend and after.

"We'll try to do our best. I mean, there's not really much more that we can do. I think at testing, there's not many days. So we found that there are already a few areas that we can work on. And that's what we'll continue to do."

Asked what he might tell his younger self, were he a rookie once again, he said: "It's important to make your mistakes and, of course, feel that excitement at the time, because if I would have told him at the time what he would achieve in the sport, then it's pretty boring to know what's ahead, right?

"You need to have that uncertainty. You need to feel the pressure of having to perform at the time, to work your way into a top team."