Max Verstappen believes it is wrong to expect a five-second drop in lap times at every race in 2017 and says some may even be slower than last year.
Formula One introduced wider cars and chunkier tyres for 2017 which were aimed at dramatically reducing lap times, with rule-makers waning to knock five seconds off the pole time set at the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix. That five-second drop was achieved during winter testing, held at Barcelona's Circuit de Cataunya, which hosts the Spain race.
In Australia Lewis Hamilton's pole time, a 1:22.188, was 4.2s quicker than the same mark he achieved in 2015, and nearly 7 seconds quicker than ten years ago at the height of the V10 era. However, Verstappen believes every race will throw up a different scenario and thinks some, such as the Italian Grand Prix, may even be slower now the cars are heavier and slower in a straight line.
When asked why the lap times had not dropped as much in Australia, Verstappen replied: "It just depends track to track. I think, for example, in Barcelona it could be more [than five seconds] because it's more about downforce. Maybe in Monza we will be a bit slower than last year -- it depends track to track."
Though the race raised concerns about how difficult the new cars will be to overtake this season, Verstappen says qualifying in Melbourne showed that the regulation change has been successful in increasing enjoyment levels from inside the cockpit.
"They are more fun, especially in qualifying when you have low fuel, they are more stable through high speed corners. The only thing is when you lose it, it's more difficult to catch it because of the wide tyres, it's difficult to get it back. That's the only thing. In general, when you keep it in the right [part of the] track it is actually a lot more fun."