Max Verstappen has expressed concern over the pitlane collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli during the 2025 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix Sprint race.
The Red Bull driver was on course to finish third in the race before the incident in the pits with the Italian rookie, who had lined up on pole position.
Antonelli, though, went wide into Turn 1 once the Sprint finally got underway, dropping him to fourth as Oscar Piastri swooped into the lead for McLaren.
Once the rain eased and the DRS was enabled, both Verstappen and Antonelli peeled into the pits at the same time to make a planned switch to slicks.
However, the Red Bull team released its driver into the path of Antonelli, who did well to avoid his crew as Verstappen suffered damage to his front wing.
The Dutchman was then handed a 10-second time penalty for the unsafe release, demoting him from fourth to 17th place come the end of the race.
The 27-year-old was questioned afterwards about the ongoing pit stop light issues that have troubled both him and the team throughout the season.
Verstappen, however, was simply grateful that the incident didn’t result in anybody getting hurt.
“They’ve all been different incidents, so you cannot really compare these things, but I think we all don’t want that to happen, but it happened,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“This is something that we need to investigate, but on the other hand, I’m just happy that no one got injured.
“With these cars, if you hit someone, it’s not great.
“I think it was super clear what happened there, so there’s not much more for me to add.”
Horner explains Red Bull mistake
With his championship rivals both scoring points, Verstappen is now 19 points off Piastri and 10 points back from Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Standings.
The British driver once again benefited from a late Safety Car in Miami as Verstappen’s pit stop woes continue.
During the Bahrain Grand Prix, a fault with its traffic light system cost both drivers vital seconds during the race.
But Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner revealed it was a “human error” this time around in Miami that triggered Verstappen’s clash with Antonelli.
“It was a human error, we’ll learn from it,” Horner replied when asked what caused the incident.
Verstappen also caught the eyes of the stewards after he was noted for being out of position at the standing start.
The officials soon determined that it required no further investigation, finding the Red Bull driver to be just on the white line.
The four-time World Champion was later asked whether his marginal positioning in the grid slot had been intentional.
He simply responded by saying it was “on the edge”.
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