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Max Verstappen has accused Lewis Hamilton of "wasting our time" following a bizarre exchange of positions during the Miami sprint race. The incident, which unfolded on lap eight, left the Red Bull driver visibly frustrated as he battled to maximize his result.
Verstappen initially overtook Hamilton for sixth place but completed the maneuver by running off the circuit. Instructed to hand the position back to the Ferrari driver, Verstappen opted not to defend into the final corner, deliberately running deep to allow Hamilton through.
However, the seven-time champion did not immediately reclaim the place, waiting until the exit of the turn to move ahead. This hesitation, according to Verstappen, unnecessarily compromised his race.
"I had to let him by, but he doesn't come by, so we lose four seconds because he just stays behind me," Verstappen explained. "That's where we wasted our time. I don't know what else I could have done there."
Despite the time loss, the driver found some positives once the bizarre sequence concluded. "So that's a bit of a shame, but after that, once I was in clear air, the pace was actually quite okay," he added.
Verstappen ultimately crossed the line in sixth place but was promoted up one spot after Kimi Antonelli was issued a five-second time penalty for a track limits infringement.
While the Red Bull driver has spoken more positively about the behavior of his car this weekend, he was quick to highlight that there is still major room for improvement, particularly regarding the car's handling characteristics and launch performance.
"The start was again not good, there was something similar to China that happened," Verstappen noted. "And then after that, out of the last corner on lap one, I had no battery release, so that was making it a lot more difficult for me."
Once free from traffic, Verstappen was able to evaluate the true pace of his machinery. "Once I was in clean air, the car felt not too bad. I was catching one Mercedes," he said. "The pace was alright, even though I think there's still quite a lot of room for improvement from our side."
The primary concern remains the car's behavior in the slower sections of the circuit.
"The car is still not where I wanted to be, and also in the low-speed corners, the car is jumping a lot, which is a bit awkward," Verstappen concluded, pointing to a lack of grip that continues to hinder his overall performance.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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