Verstappen not frustrated with P4: 'I'm here to win'

00:47, 05 May

byNorberto Mujica

Max Verstappen, after his pole on Saturday, had to accept that the McLarens were too fast for him at the Miami Grand Prix. A frustrating result? The Dutchman disagrees for one particular reason.

Speaking to media including GPblog, after the race in Miami, Verstappen stated his P4 result did not frustrate him. Why? The Dutchman himself explains. "We are here to win and today we were miles off that, so it doesn't really matter if you're a P3 or P4."

"They [the McLarens] were just miles up the road, they were much faster than everyone else on a track where the thermal degradation is very high. They just have a massive advantage, I think that's quite clear," said Verstappen explaining the reason why Red Bull were unable to challenge McLaren in Florida.

Verstappen on Red Bull's upgrades for Miami and Imola

The Austrian team brought an upgrade for the RB21 in Miami, whereas Verstappen thought yesterday that it had yielded some gains, after today he cautiously refrains from confirming his previous assessment.

"If you look at the gap, not. But I don't know, it's very hard to say. We'll keep working on it," before replying regarding the differences in the RB21's performance in qualifying and the race.

"Honestly, I think if you look at the onboards in qualifying, I think it's quite clear [how the car behaves]. But then in the race, you don't need to go flat out on the limit. And then if, of course, your tyres are just running cooler, then you have more grip. It's as simple as that."

Red Bull have scheduled to bring upgrades for Imola in two weeks time. Will those work as hoped? Verstappen again prefers to wait and see.