Horner laments Max’s ‘horrible day’ in practice

After trouble for Max Verstappen across free practice in Miami, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted the World Champion had endured a “horrible day”.

Verstappen lost out on a chunk of running in FP1 after an issue with the rear of his car that prompted Red Bull to make a gearbox change heading into second practice.

But his car was then seen on fire towards the right rear brake, which immediately scuppered his hopes of completing any meaningful running in FP2 – not setting a lap time at all as a result.

Horner admitted his annoyance at not being able to complete the team’s plans as intended, but tried to look on the plus side and highlighted Verstappen’s adaptability in getting on the pace quickly as he looks to make up lost ground from Friday.

Verstappen's gearbox has been changed as a precaution following his brush with the wall in FP1#MiamiGP #F1 @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/w35JtG1Iy3

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 6, 2022

“He’s had a horrible day,” Horner stated to Sky Sports F1. “We had an issue this morning, so as a precaution we changed the gearbox and one of the coolers.

“Then he’s driven out of the pit lane and had a hydraulic issue, which unfortunately caused some damage to the rear brakes.

“He got a few laps in – I think he’s had five timed laps today which were all competitive, but thankfully with the red flags he’s not lost too much. But it’s frustrating not to have that track time.

“He will probably do a few more laps in FP3 than normal, just to get into the circuit. With a street circuit, you’ve just got to find your way into it – but we know how good Max is at adapting to new venues.

“I’m sure he’ll catch that time up.”

Barring a harmless spin in second practice, Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez