(Motorsport-Total.com) – Max Verstappen caused a brief scare after the start of the Miami Grand Prix: The Red Bull driver spun 360 degrees in a duel against Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. “Yes, quite turbulent,” the Dutchman commented after the race with a slight smile.
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“I lost control of the rear in turn 2 and then of course tried to minimize the time loss with a 360-degree spin,” Verstappen adds. “I thought I was going to crash, but then I went full throttle and managed a good 360-degree spin.”
“If Formula 1 doesn’t work out, I can still do rallying,” jokes the Red Bull driver, who would thus follow in the footsteps of his father Jos Verstappen, who spectacularly rolled over in a rally in Belgium just last week.
Verstappen spin not caused by contact with Leclerc
Verstappen, who has been regularly trying out different racing cars, had already made it clear a few weeks ago that starting in a rally car is not an option for him. With his 360-degree spin in Miami, the 28-year-old still delivered an impressive demonstration of his vehicle control.
There was no contact with Leclerc beforehand. “No, I don’t think so,” Verstappen says. “We just went into the corner, but suddenly I lost control of the rear. It just started to slide, and once it gets to that point, it’s hard to catch it again.”
“After that, the pace on the medium tires wasn’t that bad, but as soon as I switched to the hard compound, it got significantly harder.” Verstappen and Red Bull decided on an early pit stop after the accident of teammate Isack Hadjar and the rollover of Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.
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Verstappen: The early pit stop was a mistake
“Now after the race it’s easy to say, but I think the stint was just a bit too long.” Because in the final phase, despite spirited resistance, the Red Bull driver still has to give way to Mercedes driver George Russell.
“I think right after turn 1 [Russell] touched my rear tire, and then he probably also damaged his front wing. Luckily I didn’t have a tire damage, things like that can happen,” the Dutchman reports after the race.
Luck for Verstappen: A few meters before the finish, he still manages a maneuver against Leclerc. “I think Charles’ car was broken, so he just drove it to the finish. I think he used up the whole battery, like all of us, but for some reason I was still able to overtake him just before the finish line.”
In the end, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen finishes fifth after a turbulent race: A five-second penalty he received afterwards for crossing the white line at the pit exit has no effect for the four-time world champion.
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