Verstappen seeing ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ after P2 in Miami Qualifying

Max Verstappen conceded that he feels there is now “light at the end of the tunnel” after claiming P2 on the grid in Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, with the Red Bull driver detailing the “two things” that he feels have contributed to the car’s improvement.

After a tricky opening three rounds of the campaign for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, the squad have so far enjoyed a stronger weekend at the Miami International Autodrome, having been one of several teams to bring significant upgrades to the event.

Verstappen ended Saturday’s Sprint in P5 – the same position that he started in – but seemed to have found even more pace in Qualifying, ultimately just missing out on pole by 0.166s to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

When asked after the session about what Red Bull had done to the car to find something extra, Verstappen explained: “For me it’s been two things. For sure, the car has not been great in the previous races, but also from my side I’ve never felt comfortable with the layout of the car.

“I think over those last few weeks the team has been pushing flat-out to try and bring upgrades to the car, and making me feel more comfortable with a lot of things in the car.

“It really pays off. I feel more in control of the car again, then I can push a bit more, then the upgrades are working. To be on the front row is way better than I expected heading into the weekend.”

Reflecting on what he could achieve on Sunday if he gets a good start – with the forecast for the race suggesting that rain might be on the way – Verstappen said: “Let’s start with a good start. I’ve not had a lot of them this year!

“We’ll try to have a look at that, for sure, and see what the weather will do tomorrow, but I’m already very happy with where we are. From here there’s like light at the end of the tunnel, and we can just push on and try to close the gap further.”

And in terms of how confident he feels when it comes to Red Bull’s race pace, the Dutchman added: “It looked alright in the Sprint, once I was in clean air. Of course, tomorrow is a completely different day.”