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Max Verstappen drove a strong race at the Miami GP, according to former F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen. The former McLaren driver felt the Dutchman was in control of the entire race and executed his moves on track perfectly.
Speaking to Unibet about the Miami GP, Hakkinen said:
“This was another important win for Max [Verstappen] and, when you consider that he has won every race he has finished this season, we can say that Red Bull have definitely got a faster package than Ferrari. Max’s race was so strong. He made such a good start to take second from Carlos Sainz and his overtake of Charles Leclerc on Lap 9 was perfectly executed.”
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The double world champion believes Max Verstappen has managed to put in a strong performance at the Miami GP while having a more competitive package. Displaying exceptional overtaking and defensive driving skills, Hakkinen felt the Dutchman commanded the entire race.
Commenting on Verstappen’s performance in the rest of the race, the Flying Finn said:
“The Red Bull had a straight-line speed advantage over the Ferrari which meant that, even when Charles [Leclerc] had the benefit of the Drag Reduction System, he was still unable to come back at Max [Verstappen]. When we had the late Safety Car period, Charles really pushed hard but Max was able to defend and pull away. He was totally in control.”
Mika Hakkinen reckons Max Verstappen and Red Bull are the ones to beat
Acknowledging Ferrari’s plans to bring upgrades to their car in the next race, Hakkinen suggested that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz desperately need those updates to counter Red Bull. The former McLaren champion reckons that if the Milton Keynes-based outfit resolve their reliability issues, Max Verstappen might be unbeatable.
Commenting on the overall team performance between Ferrari and Red Bull, Hakkinen said:
“Ferrari are planning to bring some upgrades to their car. Charles and Carlos [Sainz] will really need those developments to give them a lot more performance, because the Red Bull is looking so strong. Reliability seems to be the only weakness at Red Bull - Max had a costly problem on Friday, for example - but if they can find perfect reliability, Ferrari is going to find life difficult.”
Although Ferrari and Charles Leclerc lead the drivers' and constructors’ standings, the margin has been reduced significantly. While Red Bull have admitted that their reliability was also a concern in Miami with Sergio Perez’s car, they are racing against time to resolve their issues and will be bringing some upgrades to Barcelona.
