Max Verstappen missed out on points after a disastrous end to his Sprint at the Miami Grand Prix on Saturday. A 10-second penalty sent him tumbling down the order.
The world champion started fourth but immediately gained a place after Kimi Antonelli ran wide in his first-corner battle with Oscar Piastri. He held P3 until the closing stages when the track became too dry for intermediates.
After Verstappen came into the pits for dry tyres, Red Bull released him into the path of Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli. The inevitable contact broke the end-plate on the RB21’s front wing.
Carrying the damage, Verstappen lost a position to Lewis Hamilton. The stewards inevitably handed him a 10-second penalty, with Antonelli unable to make it to his pit box as he took avoiding action.
Versappen was classified last among the 17th drivers who finished the race. It was the first time he crossed the line without scoring since the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix.
Martin Brundle vindicated after Red Bull took issue with his pit-stop criticism
It was only last month that Red Bull made multiple pit-stop errors at the Bahrain GP. An issue with the traffic light led to slow stops for Verstappen and Tsunoda.
According to Ted Kravitz, Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen was furious with Red Bull over the delays. He was seen remonstrating with Helmut Marko in the garage.
David Croft spotted another meeting between Vermeulen and Red Bull’s leaders after the Miami Grand Prix blunder. This one was less bad-tempered, but may deepen the concerns of Verstappen’s camp.
“The debrief is already starting, with Max Verstappen’s manager Raymond, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko,” Croft noted. “Something not functioning right with the Red Bull pit stops at the moment.”
Brundle replied: “They were a bit unhappy with me for something I said about the pit stops in the previous races, and they have had some dramas.”
It’s not exactly clear which comment Brundle was referring to. However, he did suggest that Jonathan Wheatley may be ‘glancing back and looking at the pit stop chaos’ from new team Sauber.
Miami Grand Prix Sprint shows Red Bull need to focus on themselves – not McLaren controversy
Former Red Bull sporting director Wheatley left to become Sauber’s team boss after nearly 20 years. He was credited with the team’s record-breaking pit-stop success.
The previous race in Saudi Arabia arguably showed that Red Bull are missing Wheatley. Verstappen received a five-second penalty for a turn-one incident with Oscar Piastri.
Wheatley used to be their main advocate in those situations, making him doubly valuable.
Regardless of what’s to blame, Brundle was clearly justified in his criticism. Red Bull have renewed their regulatory attack on McLaren this weekend, focusing on their tyre-temperature control, but perhaps Verstappen will want them to focus on themselves instead.
Leave feedback about this