Marko points to 'Disastrous' scenario for Verstappen: 'Luckily, Kimi reacted well'

Verstappen broke his front wing after making contact with Antonelli's Mercedes. According to Marko, the rookie's reaction prevented a 'disastrous' scenario by after he skipped his pit stop.

The 82-year-old Austrian blames the Austrian F1 team. "He was released too early, and fortunately Antonelli reacted well and went straight. Otherwise, it could have been a disaster. But it was our fault," Marko exclusively to GPblog.

The FIA imposed a ten-second penalty on Verstappen, which Marko fully agrees with: "Yes, it was correct."

How Verstappen himself reacted to the penalty, Marko cannot yet say. "I haven’t spoken to him yet. It’s a shame, because they (the McLarens) were already losing about four seconds per lap. It would have been a close race."

Verstappen was already critical about the incident at the Miami International Autodrome. The was on the same page as Marko and pointed out that his team made a mistake. “Very sloppy”, he told Viaplay. Verstappen, who finished seventeenth in the sprint due to his time penalty, was not particularly positive about the pace of his RB21.