Verstappen hopes to avoid bollard in Miami this year

Following his impressive performance last time out in Jeddah, reigning champion Max Verstappen is eager to test the capabilities of his RB21 on a "more physical track", claiming cheekily that he wants to avoid the bollard this year after his incident in the 2024 Miami race.

Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen secured a surprise pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on a weekend when McLaren looked the dominant force across the practice sessions.

However, the Dutch driver had a suboptimal start and was handed a five-second penalty for cutting the track at Turn 1. Despite his penalty, he crossed the finish line second only 2.8 seconds behind race winner Oscar Piastri.

Speaking of this weekend's Miami Grand Prix, Verstappen noted: "I’m looking forward to racing in Miami, there is always a spectacle and a great atmosphere with the fans. It was nice to have a weekend off racing as we head into a busy weekend in Miami!

"The Sprint weekend here is always quite hectic and there is always lot going on. It is an interesting circuit and features a range of low and high-speed corners and off-camber sections.

"It is always pretty hot here and one of the more physical tracks, so we will see how we go. I’m looking forward to racing in Miami, there is always a spectacle and a great atmosphere with the fans. And hopefully we avoid any bollards this year," concluded the Dutchman.

His new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who joined Red Bull from the Japanese Grand Prix, secured a Q3 appearance last time out in Jeddah, but he retired from the action following a first-lap collision with Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.

The Japanese driver looked fairly comfortable in his RB21 in Saudi Arabia, but with Red Bull eager to speed up this process, Tsunoda was given a test outing with the two-year old Red Bull at Silverstone.

"It’s great to be in Miami and as ever, it’s set to bring the heat! I really like coming to Miami, the restaurants are great and I love the beach, so it’s a good mix between a very relaxing life and a fun one!

"I’m learning how busy life as an Oracle Red Bull Racing driver can be and the Team have kept me occupied off track this week with lots of the fun activities. Now it’s time to focus on the racing and what we need to do on track.

"I’ve been at the factory with my Team since Saudi and I also tested in the RB19 at Silverstone, so it’s been lots of hours spent together and lots learnt.

"It’s a Sprint weekend in Miami, so it’ll be a very busy one and we have to try to maximise everything as much as possible in that one practice session and then in all the time out of the car, with my engineers and Team. Hopefully, if all goes well we will be smiling on Sunday night," concluded Tsunoda.