(Motorsport-Total.com) – With a strong lap, Max Verstappen surprisingly moved up to second place in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver once again confirmed his exceptional status – and at the same time sent a clear signal in the internal team duel.
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Because teammate Isack Hadjar could not keep up. The Frenchman only finished ninth and was about eight tenths of a second behind Verstappen. Already in the sprint qualifying, the gap was about one second.
A clear picture – and one that evokes memories of previous team duels at Red Bull. And that, although Hadjar had actually started the 2026 season well.
Glock explains the difference: “That is Verstappen’s strength”
For Timo Glock, the reason is obvious. “That is Max Verstappen’s strength,” explains the Sky expert. The decisive factor is above all his ability to immediately understand and implement changes to the car.
Verstappen immediately recognizes where potential lies – and can work together with his engineer to specifically tailor the car even more aggressively to his driving style. “He knows exactly which direction he has to go,” says Glock.
According to Glock, many teammates fail exactly because of this: They need more time to adapt. A pattern that now apparently also shows with Hadjar.
Telemetry shows weaknesses: Hadjar loses time in the second sector
A look at the data confirms this assessment. Hadjar loses most of his time in the second sector – especially in the slow corners. There, Verstappen can play to his strengths in handling and vehicle control.
But beyond that, the world champion is faster: In almost all sections of the track, he is ahead, even if sometimes only by small margins. However, these add up to a significant overall difference.
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Hadjar himself confirms the difficulties: “The car is very hard to drive, but also very fast.” Above all, he was not able to put together a clean lap – small mistakes added up over the entire track.
Hadjar self-critical: “Max was simply better”
The Red Bull junior is reflective after qualifying. He made progress, especially compared to the previous day, but the decisive factor was that he did not “put the lap together.”
A problem already arose in turn 1: “If you make a mistake there, you also compromise the next corners.” Added to this were rising tire temperatures and difficulties with drivability as well as top speed.
Nevertheless, Hadjar also draws positives from the day: “When I look at the data, I am satisfied with what I have achieved.” At the same time, he acknowledges his teammate’s performance: “Max simply put everything together perfectly.”
The situation is reminiscent of previous configurations at Red Bull Racing: As soon as Verstappen performs at top level, his teammates often come under pressure.
Hadjar now faces exactly this challenge. The pace is basically there, but consistency and the perfect assembly of a lap are still missing. In such a close field, this becomes the decisive factor.
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