After a disappointing P17 finish in the 2025 F1 Miami GP Sprint Race, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen recovered well in the later Qualifying session, claiming pole despite fierce competition from McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. However, despite Norris’ strong effort in the dying stages of Q3, Verstappen held on to the top time, a 1:26.204. Norris could only manage a 1:26.269, with a rough ride over the kerbs costing him those few precious hundredths of a second.
Verstappen pleased after “great Qualifying”
In his parc fermé interview after the session, Verstappen explained that Red Bull had improved their car throughout the F1 Miami GP Qualifying session, making the tiny but crucial adjustments necessary to find his limit.
“Yeah, it’s been a great Qualifying, I think we improved the car a tiny amount as well, which helped me to basically rotate it a bit better and honestly, you know Q1, Q2, Q3 just improving every run, really, trying to find a bit more the limit.”
However, he added that pole position had not been guaranteed, recalling a brief moment in Turn 1 on his final lap which had cost him a bit of time. He also identified tyre management as a challenege during the fast-paced session.
“I had a tiny moment on my final lap into Turn 1, so I lost a bit of time there. But around here it’s just very complicated with the tyres over a lap, but at the end it worked out well so I’m very happy to be on pole.”
When pressed on his decision to continue his lap, Verstappen said, “I mean, you can back out of it, but it’s qualifying, so you try to correct it and just floor it out of the corner.”
Verstappen aiming “to maximise everything we can” in Sunday’s race
Despite his excellent performance in Saturday’s Qualifying, Verstappen admitted that he could not predict his performance in Sunday’s F1 Miami GP race. While he noted that his pole position was an asset, he warned that a lack of race pace, and potentially tricky weather, could complicate his race.
“Yeah. Let’s see. I mean, race pace, I don’t know. We have to wait and see for the weather, but it’s the best starting position – that’s always positive. And then in the race, of course, a whole different story, but of course we’ll try to maximise everything we can.”
Verstappen found “little bits everywhere” to claim pole position
During the FIA Post-Qualifying Press Conference at the 2025 F1 Miami GP, Verstappen again described his Qualifying performance. When asked if he believed that he had extracted the most from his RB21, he replied, “I think apart from entry to Turn 1, yes.”
While he did identify some “tricky” aspects, especially with getting his tyres “in the right window, he emphasised that consistent improvement through the session had been the crucial factor.
“But yeah, it’s just been really tricky to get the tyres 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.”
These improvements helped Verstappen find the crucial tenths that he needed to put his RB21 on pole. When asked when that time had come from, the Dutchman, who finished runner-up in the 2024 F1 Miami GP race replied, “Just a little bit in 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.”
Red Bull still struggling with the limitations of the RB21
Despite his comfort behind the wheel in Qualifying, Verstappen admitted that Red Bull were still struggling the the limitations of the RB21, despite having introduced upgrades for the 2025 F1 Miami GP weekend. He highlighted the car’s relatively poor cornering and slow pace on the straights, and added that the limitations were made more obvious by their use of a used engine.
“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.”
Despite his criticism of his car, however, Verstappen did admit, “But yeah, it seems like it’s a little bit better.“
Weather a critical factor in Verstappen’s Miami GP race
However, he noted that the car’s performance in long runs could be a potential challenge, especially in hot conditions. While Verstappen could not predict whether he would have a wet 2025 F1 Miami GP race, he stated that colder weather could better suit the RB21.
“Of course, the long run is a different story. The tyres 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.”
If the 2025 F1 Miami GP race is dry, Verstappen does not know how his RB21 will perform, especially with McLaren’s Lando Norris, in the more competitive MCL39, just behind. However, he believes that his uncertainty is shared by the different teams due to their limited long running under dry conditions. Regardless of what the weather brings however, Verstappen stated that he would do the best that he could to manage his tyres well.
“I don’t know, to be honest. No one has really done any proper long running because of also the Sprint race being wet mainly. So yeah, I just try to do the best I can to manage my tyres to what the car can do, and then we’ll see what that will bring us.”
Verstappen to leave Miami with some positives despite outcome of race
Regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s race, however, Verstappen will leave Miami with some positives. When asked about how encouraging it was for him to have claimed pole position at one of his weaker tracks, he replied, “It’s good.”
He explained: “I mean, coming into the weekend I knew that this was not our strongest track with all the low speed, but actually I think when you look at the data it’s probably not even most of our problem around the lap. So I guess that is already a positive.”
Red Bull “need to make less mistakes” to compete for Championship title
Though he acknowledged that Red Bull had been improving, Verstappen believes that the team has some work to do before they could properly compete against the likes of McLaren and even Mercedes. When asked whether improvements to the RB21 and to the execution of strategies were needed to improve their season, Verstappen replied, “Yeah, all of it.”
“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. You know, that’s how it is. But we keep pushing, keep trying to bring bits to the car to make it faster.”
He identified that the new upgrades to the RB21 were a step in the right direction, esplaining that changes to the set-up had helped him achieve better balance.
“Just changed the setup a bit from before to now—that’s why it rotated a bit better. What we are trying to achieve of course is a better balance in the car.”
While he emphasised that the team’s performance in Miami was not necessarily a show of their full potential, the four-time World Champion stated that his experience had “not been negative.”
“Now this track is not always the easiest to say that you have improved or nailed something because it’s just a really weird layout I would say. So it takes a bit more time. But for sure it was not negative. And yeah, from here we can work and try to improve it further because from my feeling, of course, we’re not there yet.”
He finished, “We need quite a bit more to be really in a fight.”
“Impressive” Antonelli “will only get better”
The RB21 is not all that Verstappen believes can improve with time. The Dutchman, who joined the F1 grid at only 17 years old, spoke about the potential of the 2025 grid’s youngest member, Kimi Antonelli. When asked if he was surprised by the rookie driver’s impressive performances throughout the weekend, Verstappen stated that he was not surprised. he added that he expected the young Mercedes driver to improve as he gained experience.
“I’m not surprised. But again, when you just start in Formula 1, there’s so much to learn and to already be at this pace is very impressive. But I’m not surprised at the same time. He’ll only get better, to be honest. It’s as simple as that.”
Verstappen rubbishes notion that daughter’s birth will slow him down
The Red Bull driver, who recently announced the birth of his daughter with long-term partner Kelly Piquet, also discussed the effect of his daughter’s birth on his performance. While he acknowledged the the week had been hectic, he emphasised that neither his speed nor performance on track had been affected.
“It’s been good to be able to spend a few days at home before coming here. When she’s just born, you want to make sure everything is OK.”
“Clearly it didn’t make me slower as well, being a dad. So that’s the positive. We can throw that out of the window as well for people mentioning it. And yeah, when I was here, honestly, yeah, just quite fluent.”
“Anyway, I’m in contact a lot with my girlfriend throughout the day. So, you know, getting pictures and FaceTime a bit. It’s always there. But now one more member in the family.”
He also rubbished the notion that he would change his driving style due to the birth of his daughter, highlighting that there had been drivers, like Michael Schumacher, who had won championships despite being a parent.
“Yeah, I don’t really listen to these kind of silly things. Just do my thing. I think there are enough racing drivers in the past that have been World Champion even after having kids, you know? So I don’t even know where that comes from.“
