Max Verstappen has slammed the lack of action during Sunday's Australian GP, calling the race in Melbourne "worthless".

The Red Bull driver endured a frustrating afternoon at Albert Park after seeing his chances of a podium wrecked by a small mistake at the start which allowed Kevin Magnussen to jump ahead in the Haas.

Unable to get past, Verstappen would then spin as he struggled with the balance of his car, falling further down the field.

A miserable start to the new season was then confirmed after he was jumped by Fernando Alonso under the Virtual Safety Car, spending the second half of the race in the wheel track of the Spaniard's McLaren.

"Completely worthless, very boring," he said afterwards describing the Grand Prix.

"Even if you are a second or a second-and-a-half faster, you still cannot pass. As a viewer, I would have turned off the TV. And until something changes, it will stay that way."

Despite Verstappen's claim, overtaking did increase year-on-year although the mark from 2017 was setting the bar very low.

In recent months, organisers had been considering changes to the layout at the street circuit in an effort to improve the racing though they were later shelved.

The 20-year-old doubts that would have made much difference, however.

"Do they have to change the circuit? I think they should do something about the cars, because in the past, overtaking was no problem here," he claimed.

Another driver who was left to rue the difficulty of overtaking was Lewis Hamilton as the world champion was unable to attack Sebastian Vettel after losing the lead during the mid-race Virtual Safety Car period.

"It's like my mother or my best friend is on the edge of a cliff and I couldn't get to them with all my will and abilities," the Mercedes driver said.

"Maybe in the next race, it will be different."

Indeed after Australia, the next race sees F1 go to Bahrain and a circuit where the long straights have been much more effective in promoting more action.

Also, tyre supplier Pirelli is likely to be more aggressive in its compound choices after the first race continued the trend of one-stop strategies, with higher degradation that usually translates into more opportunities out on the track.