Max Verstappen ‘irritable’ as Red Bull star’s dad speaks out about ongoing ‘problems’

Max Verstappen makes subtle dig at Lewis Hamilton

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Jos Verstappen has praised his son Max Verstappen for claiming his third win of the season in Sunday’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix. However, he has admitted the Dutchman was ‘irritable’ as further reliability issues limited his time to practice on Friday, making his victory all the more impressive.

Verstappen’s triumph in Miami continued his streak of winning every race he has finished so far in the 2022 season. The 24-year-old crashed out of the races in Bahrain and Australia, both of Charles Leclerc’s P1 finishes to help him lead the drivers’ championship by 19 points.

But after his son’s latest win, Jos heaped praise on his drive, especially after further problems with the RB18 early on in the weekend. “What an insanely good result for Max in Miami! He looked very strong again during the race after a difficult start of the weekend,” Verstappen wrote in his latest column.

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“Problems with the car on Friday meant he got very little practice, and you need that time to adjust the car, especially on a new street circuit. I could understand why he was a bit irritable. It was a shame he made a mistake in qualifying, but that can happen. It didn’t help that he didn’t know the track as well as he normally does.”

He added: “After two victories in a row, the difference with Leclerc is still nineteen points. It can go either way, but it’s clear that you just can’t have any DNFs. If the reliability of the Red Bull proves to be good, then I think Max will have another strong season, and we will have a thrilling duel between him and Leclerc.”

Red Bull’s reliability problems have also damaged the start of Sergio Perez’s season, contributing to Ferrari’s lead in the constructors’ standings. But when the car faces no issues, both Verstappen and his Mexican teammate have flaunted the team’s powerful title credentials.

Christian Horner and Co. will be eyeing the Spanish Grand Prix later this month as the moment where they could finally turn the tables on Ferrari at the summit of the standings. And Verstappen will be hungry to continue his impressive run of race wins where Red Bull’s patchy unreliability hasn’t taken him out of the equation.

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