Max Verstappen’s Miami Grand Prix weekend gave Red Bull something it had not had for most of March: proof the new parts are working. After a difficult start to the season, the four-time world champion qualified second on Saturday in Miami, then finished fifth on Sunday after a spin at the start, a far stronger showing than the team had managed in the first three rounds.
Red Bull brought major upgrades to Florida over the five-week gap before Miami, and Verstappen said the difference was immediate. “I’m already very happy with where we are,” he said after Saturday’s breakthrough, adding: “From here there’s light at the end of the tunnel, that we can just push on and try to close the gap further.”
The performance matters because Verstappen had been stranded well outside his usual range before Miami. He failed to qualify higher than eighth in Australia, China and Japan, and his best race finish until then was sixth. In Miami, he qualified fifth for the Sprint and finished fifth, then backed that up with second in full qualifying before Sunday’s spin pushed him back to fifth in the race.
That improvement came after weeks in which Red Bull looked out of step with the rest of the field. In March, the team struggled across the first three rounds of the season, and Verstappen’s own comments reflected the frustration. He said in China and Japan he was considering leaving Formula One at the end of the season, though he later tied those doubts to his dislike of the sport’s new regulations rather than Red Bull’s form.
Miami suggested the upgrades have at least given Verstappen a car he can work with again. “I never felt comfortable with the layout of the car,” he said. “I feel more in control of the car again and then I can push a bit more, then the upgrades are working.” He added: “Honestly, it’s everything, because before nothing really worked.”
There is still a long way to go before Red Bull can say the crisis is over. Verstappen said, “We understood a lot of stuff,” and pointed to the ongoing battle over energy management as another layer teams are still learning every weekend. But after a five-week gap that ended with a genuine step forward in Miami, Red Bull has at least reopened the door to a season that had been drifting away from it.
For now, the gap is no longer the story. The question is whether Miami was a one-off relief or the start of Verstappen getting back to the front where he belongs.
