Verstappen reveals where Red Bull lack speed compared to its rivals

Having been in contention for pole position, reigning champion Max Verstappen ended up fourth fastest in the sprint qualifying session at the Miami Grand Prix, with the Dutchman revealing that his RB21 lacked performance in the slow-speed corners of the Miami Autodrome.

Max Verstappen failed to show his true pace in the sole practice session of the weekend as he was among the drivers who missed out on a soft-tyre run due to the late red flag caused by Haas driver Oliver Bearman.

Despite landing in Miami late after celebrating the birth of his daughter, the reigning champion looked strong all through the sprint qualifying session both on Pirelli's mediums and softs. The Dutchman was the only driver to opt to complete two flying laps in the closing stages of qualifying, and he was right as he managed to improve on his second hot lap to end up fourth.

Reflecting on his day in Miami, Verstappen said: “I think what we did in Q3 today was good and the tyres were holding on quite well, but unfortunately from FP1 I was struggling a little bit with understeer in the car. Around here with those low-speed corners you just lose quite a bit of lap time."

Verstappen confirmed what has slowly become a trend so far in 2025 that Red Bull is very strong in the high-speed corners, but the RB21 lacks performance in the slow-speed turns.

"In the first sector, we were quite competitive, as that’s where there are a few high-speed corners, but as soon as we got to the low-speed we were lacking a bit of grip. P4 is alright, it is not where I want to be, but we need to be realistic with the limitations that we have at the moment.

"I do think we are still quite competitive. It is difficult to say where we will be in the Sprint weekend as we don’t have a lot of data in the long runs. Going off my own feeling and the balance of the car, it will be tough with the heat but we will try our best."