MIAMI, Florida — He kept chipping away, and when the checkered flag flew at the end of qualifying for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was where he has been so many times before over his storied career.
In pole position.
The Red Bull driver posted the fastest time in Q1 on Saturday, but was down in P5 after time elapsed in Q2. Yet when it counted most Verstappen was able to find the little bits of time he needed on his final lap, to take pole position ahead of Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli.
“I think apart from entry to Turn 1, yes,” said Verstappen in the FIA Press Conference when asked if extracted everything out of the RB21. “But yeah, it’s just been really tricky to get the tires in the right window over a whole lap. So I think in hindsight … Of course, you never want to have a little oversteer moment on entry, but over the whole lap I did feel a bit more comfortable.
“So yeah, of course, very happy to be in pole. I think every qualifying, like Q1, Q2, Q3, just kept on chipping away at it and just kept on improving a little bit. So that’s exactly what you want.”
When it was pointed out to him that he found a few extra tenths from his first lap in Q3 to his second, Verstappen outlined that he picked up the “bits” he needed in a few different spots.
“Just a little bit in [Turns] 7–8 and then a little bit in the second sector. And then I think a tiny bit in the last corner maybe. So yeah, little bits everywhere,” said the Red Bull driver.
The team brought an upgraded floor to Miami for Verstappen, hoping to give the defending Drivers’ Champion a bit more pace so he can fight with the McLarens at the front of the field. Asked whether the new floor was performing as desired, Verstappen said that there are still “limitations” with the RB21, but the one-lap pace has been “decent” for him.
“I mean, we are still struggling a little bit with our limitations in the car, but I do think that we’ve been quite decent over a lap, if you look at the cornering, we’re a bit slow on the straight this week.
“Then I think especially McLaren and Mercedes, and they took a new engine, and of course that always gives a little bit more power than a used engine.
“But yeah, it seems like it’s a little bit better. Of course, the long run is a different story. The tires get really hot around here. But of course tomorrow I don’t know what will happen in terms of rain or not, how warm it will be. To be honest, the colder it is I think the better.”
Still, while Verstappen was able to find the bits he needed to take pole position today, he knows he and Red Bull need to find many more bits if another championship is in his future.
“Yeah, we need to make less mistakes and we need to find more performance. I think it’s quite straightforward. It’s just not easy to extract or find,” said Verstappen. “You know, that’s how it is. But we keep pushing, keep trying to bring bits to the car to make it faster.”
Today, Verstappen found enough bits to be the fastest.
But tomorrow is a new day here in Miami.
