The Formula 1 Miami GP Sprint race had a tense moment involving Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The Red Bull Racing driver left irritated after a position swap he considered detrimental.
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The episode happened on lap eight, when Verstappen overtook Hamilton off the track and was forced to give the position back. The way the swap was handled ended up causing significant time loss for both, according to the Dutchman.
Verstappen said he tried to comply with the instruction, but the British driver’s reaction was not immediate: “I had to let him pass, but he didn’t pass, so we lost four seconds because he stayed behind me. That’s when we wasted our time,” said the Dutchman.
Read more F1: Leclerc criticizes Antonelli after Sprint battle
After the incident, the car’s pace improved in clear track conditions, although the four-time world champion still sees limitations. He highlighted difficulties mainly in low-speed corners, where the car showed instability and loss of grip.
Even crossing the line in sixth position, Verstappen gained a place after Kimi Antonelli’s penalty. Still, the Red Bull driver pointed out other problems throughout the race, such as a poor start and energy deployment failure, emphasizing that there is ‘a lot of room for improvement’ in the car’s performance.
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