Max Verstappen has demanded a thorough investigation by Red Bull into an unsafe pit release incident during the Miami Grand Prix sprint race that nearly caused a dangerous collision with Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli. The incident happened when Verstappen was given the all-clear to exit his pit box while the 18-year-old Antonelli was approaching, resulting in Verstappen’s front-left wheel striking the right-rear of Antonelli’s Mercedes W15. This collision shattered Antonelli’s wheel cover and scattered carbon fiber debris, forcing the young Italian to abort his pit stop and lose any chance of scoring points in the sprint race.
As a consequence, Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty for the unsafe release. Although he finished the sprint race in fourth place on track, the penalty demoted him to 17th and last place. The race ended behind the safety car due to a crash involving Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson, preventing Verstappen from recovering positions after the penalty. This setback allowed McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to secure a one-two finish in the sprint race, causing Verstappen to lose ground in the championship standings to the McLaren duo.
After the incident, Verstappen emphasized the need for an investigation, stating, “This is something we need to investigate.” He also expressed relief that no one was injured, acknowledging the dangers involved with modern F1 cars in such collisions. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted the error was a human mistake and promised the team would learn from it. Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff criticized the pit stop sequence, suggesting that “somebody panicked” during the release.
This incident marked the second pit stop-related problem Verstappen has faced this season, following issues with Red Bull’s traffic-light system in Bahrain that delayed both him and teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Despite the Miami setback, Verstappen showed resilience by securing pole position for the main Grand Prix by a razor-thin margin of 0.003 seconds ahead of Lando Norris.
In summary, Verstappen’s Miami sprint race was marred by a costly pit lane collision due to an unsafe release by Red Bull, which led to a penalty and loss of positions. Verstappen has called on his team to investigate the incident thoroughly to prevent future occurrences, while also maintaining focus on competing for wins despite the challenges faced.
