Red Bull’s claim Max Verstappen’s car suffered damage to the floor has been backed up by footage of him driving over the base of a bollard which he’d knocked over.
Vertsappen was beaten to P1 by McLaren’s Lando Norris when he battled to keep pace with the Brit after the safety car restart during the Miami Grand Prix.
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The defending champ believed his struggles with pace were down to opting for hard tyres before the restart as well as his car’s difficulties with balance.
However, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed Verstappen’s woes were largely down to the damage his car had taken when he smacked into a bollard.
Footage has since emerged of the moment the Dutchman’s floor got wrecked after he ran over the chicane kerbs and into a bollard on the 22nd lap of the race.
After the race, Verstappen didn’t appear terribly convinced his pace was due to damage to his car.
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“It didn’t feel different, so I don’t know,” Verstappen said.
“Maybe it was already damaged. I don’t know.
“I mean, I hit that thing and then my pace was the same so I didn’t really know if there was damage.”
RICCIARDO OFFERS BRUTALLY HONEST MIAMI VERDICT
Daniel Ricciardo conceded his vehicle is simply not fast enough to barge through traffic as he recorded a P15 finish in Miami.
The Australian showed plenty of promise during the sprint race where he crossed the line in fourth, an extremely impressive performance.
It was as good as the weekend got for Ricciardo as he was forced to start the main race at the back of the grid due to a grid penalty carried over from the Chinese Grand Prix.
Ricciardo, who always enters races “hopeful and optimistic and excited”, felt the “struggle” of trying to make his way through “dirty air”.
“We’re quick, but we’re not quick enough to start at the back and chop through the field, we’re just simply not, so we’ve got to qualify better,” Ricciardo said, via Speedcafe.
The P15 result means Ricciardo has just five world championship points from six races and two sprints for Visa CashApp RB.
Meanwhile, his teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished an impressive P7 in Miami to bring his season points total to 14, heaping more pressure on Ricciardo to deliver sooner rather than later.