New Delhi, April 17 Red Bull athlete Max Verstappen recorded three podiums from four races in a standout debut performance in the second round of the Australian Supercars All-Stars Eseries.
With all major sporting events on hold due to coronavirus pandemic, the Australian Supercars Series is currently producing one of the world's most exciting E sports championships and for the first time a wildcard was invited to join the second round Verstappen. He was invited to drive a Red Bull Holden alongside Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup.
Qualifying an impressive sixth for the opening race at Silverstone, Verstappen crossed the finish line in P2.
The second race at Silverstone, which was reverse-grid, had carnage written all over it. Starting P25, Verstappen was unfortunate to get caught up in a first lap pile-up and finished in P18.
The third race, held at Spain's Circuit de Barcelona, saw him charge from P6 on the grid to P2, behind teammate and race winner, van Gisbergen.
He started the fourth and final race at Barcelona from fifth position, and after a brief spell leaching the race, Verstappen slotted in behind van Gisbergen claiming second place and his third podium of the day.
"It was a lot of fun driving in the Supercar races and very hectic. We got some good results in the end as well which I didn't expect. To be second three times is not bad at all and to be 1-2 for Red Bull twice with Shane is really good.
"We worked really well together, especially in the final race with the strategy as he pitted a bit later and had better tyres at the end which helped us keep the 1-2. hopefully I can be back soon for some more action," Verstappen said.
van Gisbergen added: "Round two of the E series was really cool and it was awesome to get my first race win for the series tonight. I was finally able to have a night clear of any carnage compared to last week but was glad to get through all four races without any incidents and managed to get four great results which was nice."
"Working with Max was also great, we managed to get some practise laps together before the races started which obviously helped us at both Silverstone and Barcelona, and it was cool communicating with him throughout the race. I was fortunate enough to also win $ 1 000 for my designated charity, Wings for Life a Red Bull charity, which is a fantastic cause and an even better initiative by Supercars for the round winner."
( With inputs from IANS )