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Max Verstappen's apparent irritability for the majority of the 2022 F1 Miami GP weekend was justified given his circumstances, according to his father Jos Verstappen.
The reigning world champion had limited running around the Miami International Autodrome during Free Practice. His Red Bull RB18 suffered from cooling delays in the heat and hydraulic issues that flared up on-track, while also needing a changed gearbox.
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In qualifying, a late mistake cost Max Verstappen the chance to take pole and the Dutch driver had to settle for P3. The 24-year-old put all his disappointments behind him with a stellar drive on Sunday, taking a commanding victory ahead of championship leader Charles Leclerc.
Jos Verstappen praised his son's tenacity in the face of adversity on his blog on the official Max Verstappen website. He wrote:
"What an insanely good result for Max in Miami! He looked very strong again during the race after a difficult start of the weekend. Problems with the car on Friday meant he got very little practice and you need that time to adjust the car, especially on a new street circuit. I could understand why he was a bit irritable. It was a shame he made a mistake in qualifying, but that can happen. It didn't help that he didn't know the track as well as he normally does."
"To have a race like this is incredibly satisfying" - Max Verstappen after winning inaugural Miami GP ahead of Charles Leclerc
Max Verstappen was elated to win the 2022 F1 Miami GP after having what he called an 'incredibly messy weekend.'
Speaking in his post-race interview at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the 24-year-old world champion said:
“I mean also just with the limited amount of running we had all weekend, to have a race like this is incredibly satisfying. I really think we had good pace on the medium tire and I basically also made the race because that is where I opened up my gap. Once we got on the hard tires, we were evenly matched, we were always trading lap times and then I was of course not very happy when the safety car came out."
Verstappen went on to add:
"And of course these things happen, you cannot do anything about it. I survived a few attacks from him (Leclerc), just because my tires were very cold initially I couldn’t really get them up to temperature like I wanted to. But once they went up to temperature, I think we had really good pace again.”
The win in Miami helped Verstappen to reduce the deficit between him and Charles Leclerc in the World Drivers' Championship standings. The Dutchman currently has 85 points in P2, with Leclerc just 19 points ahead at the top.
