Verstappen responds to Sainz

It was a roller‑coaster Sunday for Max Verstappen in Miami. The race barely began when he spun at the start, somehow catching the Red Bull before it fully snapped and losing only about ten positions. From there, he launched an aggressive comeback — one that pushed the limits and stirred plenty of controversy.

Chaos in Miami: Verstappen spins, clashes with rivals

He forced Carlos Sainz off the track, later made contact with Liam Lawson, and the Williams driver didn’t hold back afterward.

“Honestly, Max dove in because he knows those of us in the midfield won’t fight him the same way,” Sainz said over the radio and later to the media. “I thought we were going to crash. He pushed me off the track and I lost three positions.”

Verstappen’s response was blunt: “It’s a jungle in the midfield. Not much more to say.”

The Dutchman even climbed into podium territory at one point, but an early pit stop under the first safety car on Lap 6 left him with heavily worn tires in the final phase of the race. He dropped to fifth, on top of serving a five‑second penalty for touching the white line at pit exit.

“It was a pretty stressful race,” Verstappen admitted. “I lost the rear in Turn 2 and tried to minimize the time loss with a 360. I thought I was going to hit something. If F1 doesn’t work out, I can always go rallying...” he joked.

His pace on the medium tire wasn’t bad, but the long stint on the hard compound doomed any chance of returning to the podium. There was also tension with George Russell — including wheel‑to‑wheel contact.

“I touched him with my rear tires. I think he had some damage to his wing, but luckily no punctures,” Verstappen said. He eventually overtook Charles Leclerc as well: “His car was damaged, he was just trying to get it to the finish. I was able to get by earlier.

“At least I got to fight a bit more with the guys up front,” he added. “Unfortunately, the hard tire needs to work better for us.” Verstappen had started the race from second.

Still, he saw positives in Red Bull’s Miami upgrade package, which included a Ferrari‑style rotating rear wing. “I think we’re a bit more competitive,” he said — even after a chaotic afternoon that tested him from the first corner to the last.

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