Martin Brundle saw Max Verstappen ‘starting to trust’ his Red Bull F1 car during Miami Sprint

Follow us on Google Discover

Martin Brundle thinks Max Verstappen is now starting to trust his Red Bull RB22 following the Dutchman’s performance in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint race.

McLaren took the plaudits at the Miami International Autodrome through Lando Norris’ win in Saturday’s Sprint race, but Max Verstappen’s drive to a P5 finish caught the eye of F1 pundit Martin Brundle.

Lando Norris takes maximum points – but who was your driver of the Miami Sprint? 🧐

Let us know in the comments below!

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

The four-time world champion was engaged in a wheel-to-wheel battle with former nemesis Lewis Hamilton for the first half of the shorter format race, with Verstappen coming out on top as he led the Ferrari driver by over eight seconds at the chequered flag.

Red Bull have brought a series of upgrades to Miami in order to address the RB22’s weight issues, and it has seemingly had a positive effect on both Verstappen’s mood and his pace on the race track.

• READ MORE: Lando Norris wins the Miami Sprint as Mercedes struggle for pace against McLaren and Ferrari

Martin Brundle says Max Verstappen is ‘a lot happier’ with the RB22 at Miami

During Sky Sports F1’s coverage of the Miami Grand Prix, Brundle shared his thoughts on a potential resurgence for Verstappen in the 2026 F1 season following Red Bull’s hard work over the five-week break.

He told co-commentator David Croft, “Max seemed a lot happier with his car. He said, ‘I think we’ve halved the deficit we had.’ I think the car is now starting to do what he expects it to do next, that’s the important thing.

“He’s starting to trust the car now, and that’s where you can find even more time for yourself. Then you find even more time, because you’re not hurting your tyres quite so much. So, Red Bull are easing themselves, sort of, back into the fray.”

While Verstappen is a rejuvenated figure within Red Bull’s trackside set-up, he is also well aware that this is only the first of many steps necessary for the Austrian constructor to leapfrog their rivals in the F1 pecking order.

Jenson Button pinpointed high-speed corners as the RB22’s biggest weakness after seeing the Dutchman’s sector times from qualifying for the Sprint.

Still, Verstappen can be encouraged by the progress that Red Bull engineers have made in recent weeks. There is still a multitude of racing left to be contested, and an opportunity to claim a fifth world title could potentially present itself to him further down the line this year.

• READ MORE: Red Bull are ‘smiling’ as Miami Grand Prix upgrades ‘halved’ weight issues with Max Verstappen’s car