Max Verstappen highlights major Red Bull weakness: ‘You need to be realistic’
“It’s not where I want to be but you also need to be realistic with the limitations we have at the moment. It was still quite close.”
Max Verstappen cited Red Bull’s major weakness in low-speed corners to explain why he could not compete for pole position in F1 sprint qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix.
Despite excelling in the high-speed section at the start of the lap, the reigning world champion was unable to maintain this speed, ultimately settling for fourth on the grid.
Verstappen had taken provisional pole in SQ3 but was eclipsed by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and the two McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri, ahead of Lando Norris.
Sprint qualifying was a familiar story for Verstappen and Red Bull, who continue to lack overall pace relative to McLaren.
Reflecting on sprint qualifying in Miami, Verstappen said: “I think what we also did in Q3 was good. The tyres were holding on quite well. Unfortunately, already from FP1, I was struggling with a lot of understeer in the car.
“Around here with all these low-speed corners you lose quite a bit of lap time. You can see in the first sector we’re quite competitive as that’s where the few high speed corners are but as soon as you get to the low speed you lack quite a bit of grip. P4 is alright.
“It’s not where I want to be but you also need to be realistic with the limitations we have at the moment. It was still quite close.”
Max Verstappen predicts “it will be tough with the heat”
Despite Red Bull’s inconsistencies this season, Verstappen remains firmly in the 2025 F1 title race.
After five rounds, Verstappen is just 12 points behind Piastri at the top of the F1 drivers’ championship.
Verstappen remains the only non-Red Bull winner so far this year, coming out on top at Suzuka after a legendary pole position lap.
Red Bull introduced a significant floor upgrade for this weekend, and further developments are expected for the European season, which starts in two weeks at Imola.
Regarding Red Bull’s chances in the sprint - and for the remainder of the weekend - Verstappen expects it will be “tough” due to the hotter conditions.
“Honestly, it’s very difficult to say in a sprint weekend because there’s no real proper data or long runs because you don’t know what others are doing with fuel loads and stuff,” Verstappen added.
“Just going off with my own feelings and also how I felt balance-wise with the car, it will be tough with the heat. Like I said, we know our limitations so we just need to try and make the best of it.”
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
