Miami Grand Prix – Friday Qualifying – Oracle Red Bull Racing Team – Cysnews

MIAMI, FLORIDA – MAY 03: Sprint Pole qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing is presented with the Pirelli Sprint Qualifying Award in parc ferme during Sprint Qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 03, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers’ statements after Friday’s sprint qualifying

MAX VERSTAPPEN

Position: 1, 1:27.641 (first practice: 1:28.595, position: 1, laps: 25)

“Practice was really nice and I felt really confident and comfortable with the car. To be honest, I’m quite surprised that we got the first place for the sprint qualification. I felt a little different because I couldn’t really push the saw or feel too confident on the tires and get a nice balance of the car. On a track surface like this, that means when you’re a bit off with the tires it makes a big difference, but I think everyone else struggled especially in the final run on the soft tyres. We have to analyze a few things and wonder why it was a little different from qualifying, but we should get it right tomorrow. All in all, we have a great starting position for the sprint and hopefully we can maximize it. Once the tires settle, we should be back on track.”

SERGIO PEREZ

Position: 3, 1:27.876 (First practice: 1:28.868, Position: 6, laps: 23)

“It was a challenging ride, we ran the soft compounds but we just didn’t maximize it and we had a bit of grip problems, it changed here and there. Since we’ve only driven this soft set of tires once, it’s a matter of luck as to what the car will do. It is very challenging to go from one training session to the next session, but it is the same for everyone. I think the McLarens were the fastest cars but they just couldn’t handle it on the soft compound. We have some work to do there and hopefully we can get it done by tomorrow. The goal will be to get as many points as possible in the sprint and then we will develop from that into the race. I think we are going in the right direction and hopefully we will see a stronger race pace.”

CHRISTIAN HORNER, CEO and Team Leader

“In the end it was a very good qualification for us and in Q2 on medium hard tires it looked for a while that we were not potentially the strongest car. The wind was definitely a factor today, but I think both riders did a very good job and first and third place was more than we expected. You could hear the surprise in Max’s voice in the slow lap as he didn’t feel the lap was good enough to take pole position, it was just evident that everyone was struggling with the conditions. In the end it all worked out well and it’s great to start from the front, first and third for tomorrow’s race, but there’s still a lot of work ahead of us.”

Source: Red Bull Content Monol

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