The Miami Grand Prix brought contrasting fortunes for Red Bull’s drivers as Max Verstappen returned to contention at the front of the field, while Isaac Hajjar lost contact with the Dutchman.
Red Bull struggled in the first three races of the season in March, but upgrades in the five weeks leading up to Miami have allowed Verstappen to put in more competitive performances.
The four-time world champion failed to qualify higher than eighth in Australia, China and Japan, falling short of the pace of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, and his best finish in the race was sixth.
However, in Miami Verstappen qualified and finished fifth in the sprint before taking a very impressive second place in full qualifying later on Saturday. The Dutchman had to settle for fifth place on Sunday after a spin at the start forced him to fight back from midfield and onlookers were unable to accurately read his race pace in the updated RB22.
The improved display comes after Verstappen was unhappy in China and Japan, saying he was considering withdrawing from F1 at the end of the season.
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Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli recovered from a difficult sprint to score his third consecutive Grand Prix pole position with a dominant lap in Miami. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen moves into second place on the grid, but remains more than 10 seconds behind
Verstappen insists his doubts about staying in F1 are purely a result of his dislike of the sport’s new regulations, rather than Red Bull’s performance, but his comments after qualifying on Saturday were hurtful.
“I’m already very happy with where we are,” Verstappen said. “From here we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so we just have to move forward and close the gap further.”
Why was Verstappen so fast?
Verstappen then explained the factors he believes have helped Red Bull close the gap on its usual rivals.
“I was never satisfied with the layout of the car,” Verstappen said. “Over the last few weeks the team has worked really hard to bring upgrades to the car and make me feel more comfortable in different aspects of the car, and I think it’s really paid off.”
“I felt like I had more control over the car again and I was able to push it a little bit more after that and the upgrades have been working since then.”
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Max Verstappen says his Red Bull feels “more united” after the team upgraded its car ahead of the Miami Grand Prix
Asked for more specific details in a later interview, Verstappen added: “To be honest, that’s all that matters, because nothing was going right before. I felt like a complete passenger in the car. Sometimes it would understeer, sometimes it would snap at me, sometimes I wouldn’t even touch the parts and it would feel different from session to session.”
“We understood a lot of things. We’re not where we want to be yet in terms of understanding everything, but we understand most things. And it showed that the car feels more cohesive here.”
“Finally, I can now drive the car the way I want with just steering input, which is a huge relief.
“I think everyone is learning about energy management every weekend as well. So are we, of course. I think the learning curve is probably a little bit steeper because we’re a brand new manufacturer. But yes, I’d say they’re doing a really good job and it’s getting better every time.”
Why was Miami so ominous for Hajar?
Verstappen has developed a reputation as the sport’s ultimate ‘teammate killer’ on his way to being recognized as F1’s best active driver.
Since Verstappen’s first Red Bull teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, left the Milton Keynes team in 2018 due to disdain for its preference for the young Dutchman, he has seen off a further five drivers.
Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon were quickly drafted in and out, while Sergio Perez lasted four years until Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda struggled badly last season.
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Isaac Hajjar hits the wall and slams the steering wheel at the Miami Grand Prix
The extreme setup that allows Verstappen to squeeze remarkable performance out of his F1 car can make these five talented drivers look foolish at times.
Hajar got off to a fine start as Verstappen’s teammate in the first three races. He finished an impressive third place in the opening race in Australia and was able to remain in roughly the same position as the four-time world champion thereafter.
However, in Miami, a gap appeared between the two as Verstappen’s car was developed to the point where he could challenge the leaders.
Verstappen was almost a second faster than Hajar in the final part of sprint qualifying, but the gap narrowed slightly after 24 hours in full qualifying, finishing second and ninth respectively.
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2026 Miami Grand Prix Qualifying Highlights
Hajar’s task then got tougher as he was relegated to the back of the grid for a technical violation with his car, but his poor weekend was made worse when he clipped a barrier early in the race, damaging his front suspension and crashing into another barrier shortly after.
Hajjar told Sky Sports F1: “I messed myself up by being too enthusiastic and excited and making too many moves like that. It was easy to overtake. I should have been more careful.”
“I was really disappointed because there was no point in trying to flirt over the limit in this corner.
“This is the first time I’ve really struggled with my overall pace. This is new. And I don’t want another weekend, so I really need to dig deep.”
Red Bull not worried about ‘tough weekend’ for Hajjar
Despite the difficult nature of Hajjar’s experience in Miami, there are many reasons to be optimistic that he and Red Bull can respond positively to the setback.
As an example, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mequise explained on Sunday night that Hajar had been affected by power issues on the straights.
Mekies said: “We had a tough weekend. To be honest, without giving too many secrets away, I know we haven’t done everything perfectly, but you can see for yourself that we had a linear lack of performance for him for most of the weekend. This hasn’t helped the overall performance.”
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See the best moments from Martin Brundle’s star-studded Miami grid walk
“I think he’s slowly gotten into the right rhythm in terms of driving and rhythm. I think he was strong in the race and I think he was as strong as he could have shown.”
“So I don’t think we’re worried. We certainly didn’t have a clean weekend. We also couldn’t help him by kicking him off the back of the grid after the mistake regarding the legality of the car. So, no, we’re not worried. It wasn’t a clean weekend, but there’s every indication that he’ll reach decent speed again in Montreal.”
Another advantage for Hajjar is that he has already proven in his short F1 career that he is very resilient.
After being left in tears after crashing on his way to the grid before his debut in Australia last year, Hajar responded with an excellent rookie campaign for the Racing Bulls, earning him promotion from Red Bull’s junior team.
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Racing Bulls rookie Isaac Hajar breaks down in tears after crashing during the pre-race formation lap at the Australian Grand Prix
Sky Sports F1 pundit and former world champion Jenson Button is rooting for the 21-year-old’s recovery.
“Before the first race of the season last year, he put it on the wall before the race started,” Button said.
“But with the way he bounced back, he completely annihilated his teammates for most of the season. Don’t worry too much. This is one race. Hopefully he gets through this and comes out early in Canada.”
F1 then heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another sprint weekend. Watch Sky Sports F1 live from 22nd to 24th May. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
