Former F1 driver pinpoints how Max Verstappen curated Miami GP masterclass that caught Sergio Perez off guard

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya mentioned that Max Verstappen's performance starting P9 at the Miami GP on Sunday caught his Red Bull teammate and championship rival Sergio Perez off guard.

The reigning double world champion started the race from P9 after failing to set a time in Q3 in qualifying, while Perez got the pole position for the race. With clean starts for both drivers, it was expected that Max Verstappen would finish behind Perez. But the Dutch driver's exceptional pace in his first stint sealed his advantage and gave him the win.

While speaking to Motorsport-Total, Montoya said:

"I think he did a really good job. He gave the performance he needed. He did a good job, especially on the hard tires to get through the traffic. On the other hand, I think Checo was too conservative in the first stint. He may have tried to go easy on the tires a little too much in that first stint. I don't think he really expected Max to have a would-be challenge and he didn't realize it until it was too late."

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Max Verstappen wanted to send Sergio Perez a message in Miami, claims former F1 driver

Former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya stated that Max Verstappen wanted to send a statement to his teammate after he finished behind him in Baku in the previous race.

He said:

"You know, Checo did a really good job last weekend in Baku and I think Max wanted to really tell him here in Miami, 'Hey, don't forget who I am!' It's difficult. I mean, I said to someone on Saturday that Checo can only do something against Max if he does his best in every single race week, i.e. on every single race track on the calendar. And I think he missed an opportunity here."

"Since Max was so far back on the grid, [Perez] should have pushed harder in his first stint. Just look at how far they finished ahead of Fernando Alonso and then look at the first part of the race. Perez was only three seconds ahead of Fernando when he could have had 10 or 15 seconds."

It would have been fascinating to see how far Max Verstappen would have finished had he started alongside Perez in the race.