Max Verstappen finished fifth in the Miami Sprint: "A positive step for us"

Since the start of the 2026 season, Max Verstappen He's navigating the murky waters of the midfield, a far cry from his usual pole-scoring prowess. Miami offers an encouraging first sign: fifth in Sprint qualifying, he has pushed back the Mercedes Benz by George Russell and the Classic Ferrari for sale de Lewis Hamilton on the third row, while significantly reducing his deficit to the leader. Whereas in recent races he had been more than a second behind the best, the gap on Lando Norris — poleman of the session — falls to six tenths. "In the last few races, we were more than a second behind. I'd say we've almost halved that gap, so that's positive.", summarized the four-time world champion.

Red Bull Ferrari brought several upgrades to Miami, including a version of the "Macarena" rear wing already used during testing in Bahrain and China. These developments appear to have corrected a car behavior issue that has been troubling the Dutchman for several races. "It seems more cohesive. There are still things we're working on, but it's definitely been a positive step for us."he indicated after the session.

A car that's still imperfect

Max Verstappen is clear-eyed about the remaining limitations. Red Bull is losing time in the first sector, mainly composed of fast corners, and the Dutch driver clearly identifies this area for improvement: "We are still very weak in the first sector, which is primarily about speed, so we know we need to work on that." Data analysis confirms that he also loses time in the sequence of turns 4 to 8 and in the technical section of turns 11 to 16 — areas where the car's rotation on corner entry remains insufficient compared to the best, such as the McLaren.

However, something has changed in the feeling. "It's a bit more normal to ride, a bit more together. It's still far from where I want to be, obviously, but at least it allows me to trust it a bit more and shave a bit more lap time off my time.""The Dutchman explained. In the context of a season that led him to publicly discuss a possible early exit from his contract, regaining a minimum of mental connection with his..." car is not trivial.

Isack Hadjar lost by a second

The other side of the Red Bull garage offers a striking contrast. Isack Hadjar did reach SQ3 — finishing ninth — but finds himself a full second behind his teammate, a gap he cannot explain. “At least it was clean, I made it into Q3, it’s a start, but to be a second off… I don’t know why. I’ve never been more than a tenth off since the start of the year when it mattered. I don’t know what’s going on.”"The Frenchman confided, visibly frustrated.

The sprint race takes place this Saturday at 18 p.m. (Paris time), and Max Verstappen will start from the third row with a car he is only just beginning to get to grips with. Qualifying for the Grand Prix itself, which will take place after the sprint, will be the next indicator of the true strength of this progress—and of Red Bull's ability to confirm that Miami is not an anomaly, but the beginning of a comeback.

ALSO READ > One second behind Verstappen, Hadjar is frustrated after the Sprint qualifying session in Miami: "I'm not enjoying myself at all in the car."