Max Verstappen explains SURPRISE element of his Miami performance

Max Verstappen has expressed his surprise over the pace advantage he boasted against Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez at the Miami Grand Prix.

The Dutchman, who started the race in P9, cut through the field almost effortlessly before hunting down Perez on his long hard-tyre stint.

Most expected Perez, starting from pole position, to open up an unassailable lead after defending P1 on the opening lap, but Verstappen’s immense pace on old hard compound tyres kept him in the fight.

When Verstappen did make his stop, the two-time world champion emerged less than two seconds back from his team-mate with fresh medium tyres to attack with, making light work of Perez en route to his third victory of the season.

Verstappen’s surprise

“No, I personally thought P2 [was the maximum], that was definitely in there,” Verstappen said, speaking to the BBC Chequered Flag podcast, “But yeah I mean you need a bit of…not luck, but I didn’t expect to have that pace advantage today.

“But yeah we definitely had a good car, [the] car was good on the tires.”

Verstappen also emphasised how settled he felt in his RB19 throughout the Miami Grand Prix.

“I felt really comfortable in the car and I think that really made my race because I had to look after that first tyre set – the hard tyres, quite long in the beginning, but it worked out really well.”

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