Featuring the winner of the Sprint Race, Max Verstappen from the Red Bull team, in second place we have Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, and in third place is Sergio Perez from Red Bull.
Q: Max Verstappen, congratulations on another victory in this format. Can you talk us through it? It seemed like you had a slow start and had to push Charles into Turn 1. How close was the competition between the two of you?
Max Verstappen: Yeah, I didn’t have a good start. So, I had to put some pressure on Charles. Fortunately, everything worked out in Turn 1. We had the Safety Car to calm things down a bit. We were able to increase the gap slowly after that. However, it wasn’t perfect. We still have some work to do. With the new format, we can make some adjustments to the car. Hopefully, we can improve it for qualifying and the race tomorrow. But I’m happy with the win. It gives us some points to analyze and improve upon.
Q: Points are always a welcome addition. The victory margin in the Sprint race in China was much larger. What kind of information did you gather today that can be applied to tomorrow’s race?
MV: China felt great. The car was really enjoyable to drive. However, it was a bit more challenging for me here. There are a few more areas that need improvement.
Q: The job is only halfway done. Good luck in the qualifying session this afternoon in Miami. Charles Leclerc, you were driving the beautiful blue Ferrari this weekend. Congratulations on the great result, finishing second in the Sprint race. There are many fans here in Miami cheering you on. Let’s talk about the start first. It seemed like you had a fantastic launch and put pressure on Max into Turn 1.
Charles Leclerc: Thank you. I had a good start and was on the inside of Turn 1. I didn’t want to take too many risks as we have qualifying later on. Crashing in the Sprint race would mean not participating in the upcoming events. So, I tried to be cautious. We both braked very late, but Max managed to keep the position. I pushed hard, but they had a bit more pace in the first three laps. We had similar degradation, so tomorrow’s race will be important. Starting as far in front as possible in qualifying will be crucial. Hopefully, we can put pressure on the others with our strategy.
Q: Let’s shift our focus to the qualifying session in Miami. It’s coming up soon. The job isn’t done yet today, right? You were so close yesterday. What did you learn yesterday and today in the Sprint race that you can apply to fight for pole position this afternoon?
CL: Yesterday was a close call. We didn’t have many laps in FP1, so the Sprint race allowed me to get more familiar with the track. Our target is to secure the pole position. Let’s see if we can achieve that.
Q: Well, congratulations on a great race today. Best of luck this afternoon.
CL: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Q: Sergio Perez, you finished in third place today. It seemed like a relatively calm race for you. You managed to navigate through the chaos in Turn 1 and then ran your own race.
Sergio Perez: Yeah, it was tough to get past Daniel at the start. Once I managed to overtake him, it was quite quick. However, I was three seconds behind Charles, and given the short duration of the race, it was challenging to close the gap further. Nonetheless, let’s look ahead to the rest of the weekend.
Q: When you came out here, the crowd gave you one of the loudest cheers. How does it feel to race in Miami with so many supporters?
SP: The fans are incredible. It’s great to be here with all of them. I hope I can give them an exciting race this weekend.
Q: What are your expectations for the qualifying session this afternoon?
SP: I believe we will be strong, so I’m looking forward to it.
Q: Excellent job, Max. It seemed like a fairly straightforward race for you. How did it unfold from your perspective behind the wheel?
MV: Yeah, I believe the start wasn’t particularly impressive. However, apart from that, I focused on taking care of the tires without knowing how long they would last. I’m still not completely satisfied with the car’s balance, so we need to address that. There was a bit too much oversteer, in my opinion. Therefore, before qualifying, we’ll aim to fine-tune it because I faced the same issue yesterday during the [Sprint] qualifying. This situation clearly indicates that our current setup might not be the most suitable for both qualifying and the race. Nevertheless, winning the race is the most crucial thing, and we’ll work on making it more stable.
Q: How are the track conditions in Miami today?
MV: They’re the same as yesterday. It’s hot, slippery, and there’s not much more to add.
Q: Shall we look ahead to qualifying this afternoon? Do you anticipate a similar session to yesterday, or do you think the soft tires will perform better?
MV: Yes, I believe the more laps we complete on a new set of tires each time, the situation will settle down. In Sprint qualifying, it can feel a bit strange when you switch from two mediums to one soft tire because the two compounds behave differently. If you only have one chance and you make a mistake or the car isn’t balanced correctly, you can have a terrible lap, which is unfortunate. That’s why I prefer a more traditional qualifying format. With a few sets of tires, you can truly nail the lap and adapt to the track conditions. Hopefully, the afternoon session will be more conventional.
Q: Congratulations, Charles. Well done to you as well. You had a wheel-to-wheel battle with Max on the approach to Turn 1. Can you talk us through the first 10 seconds of the race?
CL: Yes, I had a pretty good start. I was on the inside of Max for Turn 1. We both braked, perhaps too late! However, we managed to make the corner, and ultimately, Max maintained his track position. After that, my focus was on staying within one second to activate the DRS, especially after the first Safety Car period, but we couldn’t achieve that. Subsequently, it became quite challenging to catch up with Max. We had a slight tire advantage with the new Mediums. Hence, being ahead in qualifying this afternoon will be crucial.
Q: After limited practice running yesterday, the Sprint race was your first extended run of the Miami weekend. How was the car?
CL: It was alright. I don’t think anyone on the grid has an ideal setup due to the limited laps we have in FP1, especially for me, as I only completed one. It’s always a bit uncertain, considering the changing track conditions from Friday to Sunday. It’s a difficult situation, but I believe we did a reasonably good job. We still need to make a few adjustments for this afternoon to improve further. Hopefully, it will pay off.
Q: Moving on to you, Checo. During the race, you had to work your way past Daniel Ricciardo. How was your car performing?
SP: Yes, I lost a position to Daniel at the start while trying to overtake Charles. We all braked very late, and I ended up going too deep into Turn 1, resulting in a lock-up. Consequently, I lost the position to Daniel and nearly lost another to Carlos. However, I managed to hold it together. Right after the Safety Car period, as soon as I could use DRS, I successfully overtook Daniel. However, by that time, Charles was already three seconds ahead. Considering the race’s short duration, it was practically game over. I made some attempts and closed the gap at times, but once I reached around 1.8 seconds, it became quite challenging to get any closer. Unfortunately, the race was simply too short. In these Sprint races, it’s really difficult to make significant progress if there’s a Safety Car intervention.
Q: (Filip Cleeren – Motorsport.com) Charles, you already mentioned that tire degradation will be crucial. You spent the entire race behind Max, so how do you assess your tire degradation and your pace compared to Max? Do you see any opportunities for tomorrow?
CL: I believe we were quite similar in that aspect. Perhaps in the last two or three laps, Max had the advantage and he managed to pull away a bit more. But aside from that, I struggled a little with the turbulent air. Whenever I got within 1.8 or 1.7 seconds, my gap would increase to 2.2 or 2.3 seconds, and then it would decrease again. The main issue for me was the turbulent air. I think if I had the DRS on the first lap, we could have applied more pressure on Max, but unfortunately, we didn’t have that opportunity. So, we need to address that for tomorrow and ensure that we maintain the DRS when we are behind and increase the gap when we are in front.
Q: (Taylor Powling – Motorsport Monday) Charles, you mentioned that you didn’t even feel the turbulence caused by Max within one second. Is this specific to the circuit or a common occurrence with these cars? Will it change with the return to pre-2022 levels?
CL: No, I believe it has always been the case, and it also depends on the car. Some teams claim that it’s getting worse. Personally, I feel that it’s slightly better compared to last year when it comes to following closely, but we still experience it. Especially when it comes to tire overheating, being behind another car reduces the downforce and increases sliding, which worsens the overheating. So, it’s not specific to the track. It has always been like this.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) This question is for Max. Yesterday, after FP1, you seemed relatively satisfied with the setup, according to Helmut Marko. Can you explain why your feeling was so different compared to the Miami Sprint qualifying and today’s Sprint race? Additionally, how much of a relief is it to have two Parc Fermés now?
MV: Yes, we made some changes that we believed would improve our performance in qualifying, but it didn’t work out. We will analyze what we can improve now. I’m glad that this new format allows for some adjustments. Otherwise, we would be stuck with it, and it could ruin our weekend.
Q: (Sahil Kapoor – NBC Miami) A question for Max. Despite all the off-track issues at Red Bull, it hasn’t affected your on-track performance. Has it affected you personally? How have you managed to handle it without any impact on your performance? Do you have any doubts that it will continue?
MV: I’m here to race and strive for victory. Of course, it’s important to feel good and have a stable environment. We are working on that, and I believe we can achieve it. So much has been said about it. I’ve been answering these questions since March, maybe even February… End of February? I don’t even know what else to say. As a team, we have focused on the car’s performance. So far, it hasn’t affected that, and I’m grateful for that.
Q: (Dan Lawrence – Motorsport Monday) Question for Max. We heard you on the team radio complaining about tire degradation and mentioning some balance issues. However, you still won the short Sprint race with a three-second lead. Does this give you confidence for tomorrow, knowing that if you can improve these aspects, you can have even more control and aim for the win?
MV: Yes, I hope this is the worst-case scenario, so to speak, because I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the car. There is definitely room for improvement. Hopefully, we can find that improvement in qualifying. However, qualifying is always tricky on this track, as it’s challenging to get the tires to perform consistently over one lap. Even when you think you’ve nailed it, going out with a fresh set of tires remains difficult to maintain consistency. That will be the trickiest part of the weekend, getting it right in qualifying. And if we naturally improve the car’s balance, our tire degradation will also improve in the race. In theory, we should be even more competitive.