Max Verstappen claims a number of factors could affect his race at the 2022 F1 Miami GP. The driver cited the 2022 Imola GP as his reference, claiming the team will try to achieve a similar result in America.
Verstappen and Red Bull were the best of the best in Imola, with the Dutchman having topped the time charts all weekend. The 2021 world champion proved his wet weather driving prowess, having found abundant grip despite the intermittent conditions. The 24-year-old scored a Grand Slam, showcasing his title-winning talent despite being up against Ferrari, who were on their home turf.
Speaking ahead of the 2022 F1 Miami GP, Max Verstappen claims the new track will make the weekend all the more unpredictable. He said:
"I think you always want to try and achieve a weekend like we had in Imola, but that's not always the case unfortunately. Let's see what we can do here. I think we have a good car and we can have a good result again but on a new track a lot of things can go wrong or they can go well. It is, of course, about trying to find out what works well for you and trying to get up to speed at the new track. Try to see the track conditions and go from there and try to do something similar as in Imola".
Nico Rosberg claims Max Verstappen was 'in a league of his own' at Imola
Verstappen was in a league of his own at the 2022 Imola GP, as per 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg. The German lauded the Dutchman's performance around the historic track, claiming his dominant display was key for Red Bull to level the playing field with current championship leaders Ferrari.
Nico Rosberg praised Max Verstappen to Sky Sports F1, saying:
“It looks like Red Bull have really made progress with their reliability and sorted the issues. And then, really, it’s again about Max Verstappen. The whole weekend, [he was] just nailing it whenever it counted. He was just in a league of his own; an unbelievable job by him, and really putting the marker down and saying: ‘Hey, I’m not out of this championship yet. I’m back right in there.’”
However, the Dutchman got off to a poor start in Friday's practice sessions, having developed a hydraulic issue in his RB18. Verstappen was unable to steer the car, despite having input full steering lock, and was seen with a small fire near his rear-right tire. The Red Bull driver missed out on valuable track time while his rivals, in particular Mercedes and Ferrari, got further ahead.