Max Verstappen finished second at the Miami GP, but would have had the victory within his grasp: Christian Horner reveals what happened to the Red Bull driver.
Max Verstappen missed victory in Miami by a whisker. The Red Bull driver had all the cards on the table to be able to cross the finish line first, but he did a “stupid” mistake which cost him dearly.
To reveal it is Christian Horner.
The team principal said that the Dutchman suffered significant damage to the ground after hit a cone on the track. Verstappen was driving very well until the twentieth lap: that’s when the impact occurred.
“He hit the cone around lap 20. This caused a lot of damage to the underside of the car,” Horner revealed to the media after the race.
The Red Bull driver had enough pace to get away from the two McLaren drivers. After the impact, however, it started to leak. The Safety Car came out at the perfect time for Lando Norris, which was able to stop for a pit stop. This, however, did not help Red Bull.
“It wasn’t ideal for us, because we were running on tires that were six or seven laps old”Horner continued. “And with the damage done, I think second place was still a pretty decent result.”
The extent of Verstappen’s damage to Miami
According to initial data from Red Bull, the Milton Keynes team identified that the damage to Verstappen’s bottom was causing him losing a sizable .250 per spin. Norris obviously took advantage of this to escape and move further and further away from the world leader, giving him almost eight seconds.
“He lost two and a half tenths every lap,” said the Red Bull team principal.
Cover image credits: F1InGenerale.com
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