Verstappen: Losing training can cost us dearly

In the second practice of the Miami Grand Prix at Red Bull Racing they only worked with Sergio Perez’s car. The Mexican racer set the third fastest time and, in summary, drew attention to the slippery tarmac outside the track.

Max Verstappen missed the first half of the second training session because the team changed the gearbox in his car. During the pit stop lap, Verstappen’s hydraulics failed and the right rear brake caught fire. Max returned to the pit lane and never returned to the track.

Sergio Perez (3rd): “I was very disappointed that there is no grip on the track outside the race line. Too bad, because this is not the best way to influence the battle in the race. As soon as you leave the track, the car immediately loses grip, like on a wet track. In such circumstances it will be difficult to overtake.

Nevertheless, an interesting race awaits us, as everyone is on an equal footing. We don’t know where we are now.”

Max Verstappen (no time): “Not a great day – very painful not to go to work, especially on this type of track. It was important to do as many laps as possible to learn the track and gain speed. In fact I only four or five fast laps a day – not the kind of result I wanted.

In the second practice I had problems with the hydraulics. Almost immediately after exiting the pits I realized I couldn’t turn – the steering was jammed. In addition, even the brakes started to smoke. There were many problems today.

As I said, the day turned out to be painful, the team was unable to collect any information from my car, which could cost us a lot.

Yes, the training was interrupted by red flags, so the opponents couldn’t work well, but for us this can’t be an excuse, because we have to solve our problems regardless of the red flags.