Verstappen takes blame for P9 start after first lap error

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Max Verstappen admits his own mistake was the catalyst for a ninth-place finish at the Miami Grand Prix despite being unlucky with a red flag.

The championship leader was favorite for pole position but made a mistake on his first Q3 lap and returned to the pits, leaving himself with just one run to set a time. On his exit lap, Charles Leclerc then crashed out at Turn 8 to bring out a red flag that ended the session prematurely, and Verstappen says that’s a situation he got himself into.

Of course it’s unfortunate, but first of all we didn’t do a lap, and that was my fault, Verstappen said. But it was extremely tricky. I was a little off the line from the 6-for-7 (turn), felt a little understeer and just couldn’t get it back on the line. So I interrupted my turn. And then of course you need a bit of luck, hoping there won’t be a red flag. But of course, when you try to think like that, then it happens.

So it’s a bit annoying. I mean, all weekend we were very fast, my lap in Q2 was fast enough even for pole in Q3. So I guess that already says we have a very fast car. But you have to put it together, and where it matters, we haven’t. And that’s a bit frustrating for me.

Verstappen thinks Red Bull could have been more careful in its last race by leaving the garage in front of more cars, but he also thinks the team weren’t taking too many risks to seek the best track conditions.

We could have retrospectively — we could also have come out a little earlier. But you know, at the end of the day, I make a mistake. Of course, we don’t expect me to make a mistake. Then, of course, you’re like, OK, let’s go a little early, then we could have a clean run. I was still quite ahead of a few cars. But you also don’t expect a car to turn off immediately. It’s a street circuit, these things happen.

Despite the low starting position, Verstappen says getting ahead of all cars except team-mate Sergio Perez – starting on pole – is his realistic goal on Sunday.

Minimum P2 It will be a little harder. But I think with the pace of the car that we normally have, yes, we should have a chance to move forward quite quickly. But I hope it won’t be a DRS train, because then we’ll be in trouble.

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