MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Max Verstappen was feeling a bit more comfortable in his car at the Miami Grand Prix, but the four-time Formula 1 champion still believes Red Bull has improvements to make.
After testing out Red Bull's upgrades made during a five-week break in the F1 schedule, Verstappen had his best result of the season on Sunday, finishing fifth despite spinning from second on the opening lap.
Verstappen has been a vocal critic of the current car regulations, even going as far as saying he's considering leaving the sport. He left Miami only slightly happier with the car.
"I mean, my car drives a bit better," said Verstappen, who qualified a season-best second for the race at Miami International Autodrome. "But what I said before about the regulations is the same. ... It's still not how I would like to see it."
Verstappen was part of a chaotic start to Sunday's race when he spun trying to hold off Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who had surged to the lead ahead of eventual winner Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes on the opening lap. The spin caused Verstappen to fall to ninth.
"Quite hectic," Verstappen said. "I lost the rear into Turn 2. Then I tried to minimize the time loss by doing a 360. I thought I was going to crash but then I floored it and managed to do a good 360. So if F1 doesn't work out, I could always go Rally (racing)."
Verstappen worked his way through the midfield back into third, even briefly taking the lead as others pitted. He attempted to make it a one-stop race, an approach that eventually cost him.
"After that (spin) I think the pace was not too bad on the medium (tires)," he said, "but as soon as I swapped to the hard compound (tires) it was just a lot more difficult. Now, after the race it’s easy to say of course, but I think that stint was just a bit too long."
Tough weekend for Ferrari
Leclerc settled for a sixth-place finish despite getting off to a strong start from third.
He was among the leaders throughout the race, but a costly move on the penultimate lap caused him to spin and hit the barriers.
“The damage was significant,” Leclerc said afterward, adding: “I'm very disappointed with myself. It's all on me and it's not acceptable.”
Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton said it was a disappointing weekend he qualified sixth and finished seventh. Hamilton's car was affected by an apparent collision with Franco Colapinto of Alpine at the start.
“Overall, it was a challenging weekend, but I believe we have a good car and there are some positives to take away,” Hamilton said. “We just need to keep pushing, both at the factory and at the track, to keep adding performance and close the gap as we move forward.”
Star-studded audience
F1 races typically bring out famous faces from all over, and rainy weather on Sunday didn't stop the influx of celebrities.
Miami-based entertainer DJ Khaled arrived at Miami International Autodrome on a yacht that was toting an F1 car belonging to Red Bull's sister team.
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, perhaps looking for a refreshing getaway after Saturday's disappointing loss to Orlando City, arrived with his family a few hours before the race, posed for photos with drivers and visited the Mercedes garage. Messi's teammates Luis Suárez and Tadeo Allende were also in attendance.
Stars from all over the sports world toured the campus' sprawling grounds all weekend, including tennis greats Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal — he flew the checkered flag at the end of the race — the Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo, and several Miami Dolphins players.
Also spotted were actors Colin Farrell and Patrick Dempsey, late-night host Jimmy Fallon and astronaut Reid Wiseman, the commander of last month's Artemis II moon mission.
