Max Verstappen has criticised the “unpredictable” nature of the tyres making qualifying at Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix “not fun to drive” despite taking pole position.
The Dutchman continued his imperious record over a single lap in Miami as he fended off a challenge from the two Ferrari drivers to secure a sixth consecutive pole.
Although he was unable to improve on his last attempt in Q3, Verstappen’s 1:27.241s remained the benchmark as both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz went slower.
Asked whether there was a specific moment that cost him on his second run, he said: “It’s just super unpredictable, it’s quite frustrating, it’s not really fun to drive like that.
“But yeah, I can’t tell you what went wrong because I did the same thing and then you come out of corners and you suddenly lose one-tenth or whatever.
“I’m like alright, just a bit less grip. It’s just yeah, you know some qualifiers you go in you know, ‘okay I can improve here, there’, you know the tyres are quite consistent and you know you can just push here, it just feels like you have no idea really like what you’re gonna get and that makes it really difficult.
“And yeah I mean my first sector was a little bit better but then the middle sector [it] just fell away from me again for whatever reason and then I think I was quite equal into the last corner so I just tried to brake a bit later like a tiny front lock and then you miss the momentum out of the corner. Yeah, that’s what it is.”
Pole sitter Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing in qualifying parc ferme. 04.05.2024. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 6, Miami Grand Prix, Miami, Florida, USA, Sprint and Qualifying Day
Verstappen has encouraged Pirelli to go more aggressive with their compounds but also reckons that the characteristics of the Miami circuit accentuated the issue.
“I think it’s everything,” he summarised. “So, the track, the tyres, the car…weather… Yeah, very low grip.
“Yeah, they overheat very quickly for whatever reason. Yeah, I think they are conservative.
“At the same time, we’re already overheating, which I mean I would like races like two stops, three stops. I think it’s a lot more fun than having a straightforward one-stop.
“It’s not really that challenging, I think, also for the teams and drivers also. So yeah, you know, when you have a race like in China, you know, you can do a two-stop.
” think it just opens up, you know, a bit more flexibility in the pit windows and things are a lot more fun.
“So yeah, maybe we can try to go softer, but we have to speak to Pirelli about that. If they want to do that.
“But yeah it’s a lot of things that have come together that make it very tricky around here.
“I mean I think the the cornering speeds are also super, super low so if your tyre is a little bit out of the window and you slide a little bit you lose a lot of lap time you know in a low-speed corner. So yeah if we would have a few more fast corners that would be in general I think always a bit more preferred.”
Verstappen had been surprised when he secured pole for the Sprint as he combated balance problems, but is more confident in his Red Bull car for tomorrow’s race.
“I’m happy with my balance in the race,” he previewed. “I think we’ll be alright. It just needs to be a bit better than what we had today in the race.
“I think if we can achieve something like that, that we’re in a bit of a happier window, then I’m sure we’ll be quick.”
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