Verstappen 'can work magic' with the RB21

While Verstappen managed to secure a magnificent pole position on Saturday, he was unable to compete for the win during the Miami Grand Prix. Nonetheless, the performances of the Red Bull Racing driver still offer perspective according to Martin Brundle, as indicated by the former Formula 1 driver on The F1 Show of Sky Sports.

The Briton said: "Friday, this car won’t turn, won’t brake, and then he pulls the magic out in qualifying and sticks it on pole just to remind everybody how good he is." According to Brundle, few people in Formula 1 doubt the Dutchman's class. “He's the best out there at the moment. He's extraordinary."

However, these words will be of little consolation to Verstappen, as the four-time F1 world champion is 32 points behind Oscar Piastri in the World Championship. The problem definitely does not lie with Verstappen himself, but primarily with the RB21.

“He's got it all together. But his car's not, you know, if you took Max out of the Red Bull at the moment, where do you think they are? Are they fourth or fifth fastest, probably, if you took Max out of that equation?" the British analyst continued, adding: “It's a punchy thing to say, but he's driving beautifully. He can deliver the magic." 

“The McLaren clearly isn't quite there on a single lap. Both drivers make a lot of mistakes, small, tiny mistakes. But the car's a bit flighty on low fuel, and then it's brilliant on the longer runs. And those two things are probably, well, almost certainly linked," said Brundle. While the McLaren drivers often make mistakes, according to the 65-year-old, he sees Verstappen always extracting the maximum from the car.

“But Max is in there just getting the job done" Brundle concluded.