Max Verstappen refuses to rule out a win over Sergio Perez at Miami GP and is not ready to settle for just a podium
Max Verstappen starts at the 9th spot in the Miami Grand Prix!
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Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez (Credits: Skysports)
Max Verstappen, the Formula One world champion, believes that winning the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday is not out of reach, despite starting from the ninth position on the grid. Verstappen has won two out of the first four races of the season, and he leads the driver’s championship.
He could not complete his late fast lap after Charles Leclerc of Ferrari crashed, which resulted in a red flag. The Dutchman’s qualifier was cut short with only one minute and 36 seconds left. Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate just six points behind him in the standings, secured pole position in Saturday’s qualifying.
Despite the massive setback for Verstappen in the qualifiers, he hopes to finish strongly during race day; even just a podium finish is not enough for him. “[A podium] for sure. But I want to win.” He said, “Winning not impossible, but it is not going to be easy.”
Max Verstappen believes the Second position is achievable
When asked about his experience during the qualifiers, Verstappen said, “That was a mistake of mine trying to put it on the limit.” He said his mistake caused him to abort the lap, costing him a good position for the race.
He also said you need a bit of luck while on the track: “Then you rely on a bit of luck [as well]. That there is not going to be a red flag.” The Red Bull driver also pointed out that the car was understeering during turns six to seven. He clarified, “I was a little bit (offline) out of turn six into seven.” and he added more: “I felt a bit of understeer and couldn’t get it back on the line.” That is the reason he decided to abort from the lap.
However, the two-time Formula One champion wants to remind everyone that “I have been in this position before; a few setbacks do not mean that it carries on for the rest of the year.”
Red Bull Principle Christian Horner questioned the decision to stop the race 20 seconds after Charles Leclerc crashed into the wall. He said,” had [the qualifier] been stopped immediately, you could have possibly gotten around.”
He blamed the windy weather for some of the crashes during the qualifiers. Furthermore, the Weather forecast predicted that it might rain during race day. This will make things trickier for the racers, with so many incidents already occurring.
Max’s teammate Sergio Perez took the pole position in the qualifiers, followed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Verstappen needs to have the race of his life to finish above the Spaniard during the race.
In case you missed it:
- Lewis Hamilton admits he will always carry the ‘scar’ from his Abu Dhabi 2021 ‘heartbreak’
- “My lap was pretty bad”, Sergio Perez gets self critical, sounds concerned ahead of big showdown with Max Verstappen at Miami GP
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Ishan Misra
(3025 Articles Published)