F1 Miami Grand Prix practice LIVE: Updates from first US race of the season

Verstappen hits out at ‘incredibly messy Red Bull build-up

Max Verstappen hit out at his Red Bull team for making things “super difficult” for the Miami Grand Prix, writes KIRO EVANS.

The F1 World Champion admitted it had been an “incredibly messy” weekend, with the team’s misfortunes topped off with Verstappen’s botched final lap in qualifying.

He will start third in Sunday’s race behind the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who locked out the front row.

Verstappen will need to reel in title rival Leclerc if he is to close the 27-point deficit between them in the Driver’s Championship.

But it’s been a frustrating weekend so far for the 24-year-old, with his practice sessions disrupted for various reasons, including his brakes catching fire in second practice.

When asked how he will approach the beginning of the race, the Dutchman said: “I haven’t seen any other starts and I honestly cannot tell you because I haven’t done a start on the left side or on the right-hand side, so … yeah. I mean, that just sums up my weekend: it’s just been incredibly messy. We just make it super difficult for ourselves.

“Basically no… well, four or five laps yesterday, then you start today still learning the track, try to find a setup because yesterday you have no clue what, of course, works, because there’s not really a lot of data to look at.

“And I’m of course still pleased to be in third position and actually be very close to the guys next to me. But yeah, I think we can do so much better by just actually operate a bit cleaner and smoother.”