Max Verstappen has admitted he is still not satisfied with the balance of his Red Bull car despite winning the F1 Sprint race at the Formula 1 2024 Miami Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Dutchman was not quite as comfortable as he is used to out in front after starting on pole, taking the checkered flag with only a three-second gap to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, with his team-mate Sergio Perez settling for third.
The RB20 has not looked as dominant around the challenging street circuit, with Verstappen surprised to get pole on Friday, while sweltering conditions have made it tougher for drivers to find grip on their tyres.
And Verstappen is keen for a resolution concerning the issues with their car ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s main race after struggling with oversteer.
“I’m still not entirely happy with the balance of the car, so we need to look into that,” Verstappen told the written press in Miami, including Total-Motorsport.com. “A bit too much oversteer, I would say, so we’ll try to fine tune that before qualifying, because I had the same problem yesterday in [sprint] qualifying.
“So it definitely highlights that what we have at the moment is probably not the best for quali and race. Nevertheless, we won the [sprint] race, which I think is the most important thing and we’ll try to just make it a bit more solid.”
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
Verstappen complaints continue
It came after Verstappen blasted his “pretty terrible” lap to secure pole position in sprint qualifying, with the 26-year-old elaborating on why he prefers the normal race format to a sprint weekend.
“In sprint qualifying when you do two mediums and suddenly one one soft tire sometimes feels a bit weird because the two combined always drive a bit different than when you only have one shot at it,” Verstappen added.
“If you make a mistake or the car is not in the right balance window, then you can have a horrible, horrible lap, which I find a bit of a shame.
“That’s why I prefer a bit more of a normal qualifying, you have a few sets to really nail the lap and get used to the track conditions as well.”
