Verstappen finished 5th after a spin at the start in Miami: "I did my best to minimize the damage."

Max Verstappen had nevertheless achieved the essential by raising his Red Bull on the front row of the starting grid. But its advantage vanished as soon as the lights went out. Since the introduction of the new 2026 regulatory era, the RB22 seems temperamental during acceleration. These difficulties were indeed confirmed by the Red Bull's wheel lock-up during the first braking zone, followed by a spectacular spin to avoid the Classic Ferrari for sale de Charles Leclerc.

Yet, even in adversity, car number 3 shines with composure. By narrowly avoiding the number 16 Ferrari in its spin, the Dutchman managed to get his car back on track almost instantly. A save that went almost unnoticed, but which nevertheless relegated him to ninth place on the first lap. It's a shame what happened on the second corner, of course; I simply lost the rear of the car. he explained to the microphone of the F1I did my best to minimize the damage by doing a 360° spin! We opted to switch to the hard tires quite early, and in hindsight, the stint was perhaps a bit too long; it was too difficult to keep the tires alive."

The final tally could have been worse for the Dutchman, who nevertheless missed the podium due to this initial error. Because in terms of pure performance, the four-time world champion had the tools to compete at the front. The car's pace was better, but I think we weren't as competitive on hard tires; I felt better on the mediums."

Stuck on the hardest compound tires for 51 of the 57 laps of the Miami Grand Prix, following an early pit stop on lap six under the safety car caused by his teammate Isack Hadjar's accident, Verstappen had to fight his way through the field. True to form, he made some aggressive overtaking maneuvers, notably on Carlos Sainz, to return to the front lines.

An aggressiveness that considerably annoyed the pilot Williams. "He thinks he can do whatever he wants because he runs in the middle of the pack." ", the Spaniard exclaimed on the radio, denouncing a gesture too aggressive » after the race.

To conclude the Miami Grand Prix, Verstappen ultimately received a five-second penalty for crossing the white line at the pit exit. This sanction had no impact on his final result, a frustrating fifth place that didn't reflect the solid pace he had finally managed to demonstrate in the race, driving an RB22 that was once again enjoyable to drive.

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