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Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen calls for Red Bull investigation: 'I'm happy no one got injured'

Max Verstappen failed to score points in the F1 sprint race from Miami after being hit with a costly 10-second time penalty.

Verstappen damage Miami
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To news overview © XPBimages

Max Verstappen has called on Red Bull to investigate what led to his unsafe release during the Miami sprint.

Verstappen was running in third place when he entered the pit lane to switch to slick tyres as the track began to dry out at the Miami International Autodrome.

After the tyres were fitted, and just as Verstappen was given the all clear to exit, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli approached his pit box.

The front-left wheel of Verstappen's Red Bull hit the right-rear of Antonelli's W15, shattering the wheel cover. The 18-year-old Italian was forced to abort his stop, costing him a shot at finishing in the points after starting from pole position.

For the stewards, it was a slam-dunk decision to hit Verstappen with a 10-second time penalty. Unfortunately for the four-time F1 champion, the race finished behind the safety car after Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was sent crashing into a wall after being clipped by Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson.

Finishing fourth at the chequered flag, Verstappen was dumped to 17th and last on the timesheet, losing ground in the title race to McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who finished one-two.

It was the second time this season Verstappen has suffered pit stop woes. In Bahrain, the traffic-light system caused delays for the Dutch driver and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

As to how difficult it was becoming to deal with such frustrating incidents, speaking to Sky Sports F1, Verstappen replied: "They've all been different. You can’t really compare these things. We all don’t want that to happen, but it happened."

On this occasion in Miami, however, Verstappen added: “This is something we need to investigate."

Given the shards of carbon fibre that flew off Antonelli's car from the broken wheel trim, Verstappen also noted: “On the other hand, I’m just happy that no one got injured. With these cars, if you hit someone, it's not great.

"It [the incident] was super clear what happened there, so not much more for me to add.”

Responding to Verstappen's suggestion, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "It was a human error. We’ll learn from it."

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