Jenson Button saw Max Verstappen take Lewis Hamilton’s ‘breath away’ during Miami GP battle

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Lewis Hamilton was left flummoxed by Max Verstappen’s tactics during their Sprint race battle at the Miami Grand Prix, Jenson Button says.

The duel between Hamilton and Verstappen was arguably the most exciting element of the Saturday race. The Red Bull driver ran deep when he first tried to pass the Ferrari on lap eight, forcing him to hand the position back.

Verstappen did so at the final corner, but he made the move stick fairly on the following lap. He eventually finished fifth, inheriting a place from the penalised Kimi Antonelli, while Hamilton came home seventh.

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Jenson Button says Max Verstappen threw Lewis Hamilton a curveball

Verstappen’s timing was characteristically tactical when he returned the place to Hamilton. He wanted to be behind the Ferrari before the overtake mode line, which would give him access to extra energy for the next lap.

Hamilton’s initial hesitation frustrated Verstappen, but Button explained on Sky Sports after the session that it was understandable.

The 2009 world champion said: “The problem is, when Max is being Max, it takes your breath away a little bit. You’re like, ‘Hang on, what should I be doing? Should I overtake him?’

“It was an unusual situation Lewis found himself in.”

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Button’s colleague Karun Chandhok was reminded of the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP, when the two title rivals, who were battling for the win, timed their overtakes around the placement of the DRS line.

“They’re playing a bit of a game,” said Chandhok. “Remember that Saudi year when they were all playing around with the DRS line. In this case, it’s the overtake line.

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“Watch Max’s hand here, waves him past, says ‘come on, go ahead, I want to be behind you when we get to the overtake detection point line’. A bit of a hark back to 2021 when they were playing those games.”

Martin Brundle says Max Verstappen used ‘extraordinary’ Red Bull device to pass Lewis Hamilton

While chasing Hamilton, Verstappen had the aid of Red Bull’s brand-new ‘Macarena’ wing. Ferrari also debuted the rotating active aero in Miami.

Martin Brundle described the device, which is used to minimise drag on the straights, as ‘extraordinary’.

“None bigger than the Red Bull,” Brundle said of the active aero openings. “Extraordinary how wide that opens up. It’s like a shark coming over to eat you, that one.”

Laurent Mekies is adamant that Red Bull ‘invented’ the wing late last year, before they had seen the Ferrari design. Their concept is believed to be the more efficient of the two.