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Max Verstappen can see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ after an impressive performance during qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix.
Following the Sprint, which was won by Lando Norris ahead of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc, qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix took place around the Miami International Autodrome.
After a tough Sprint where he was demoted from fourth to sixth due to a five-second penalty for excessive track limits breaches, Antonelli secured a hat-trick of poles ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc.
It was an impressive lap time of 1:27.798 that did the job for Antonelli, with Verstappen 0.166 seconds behind the young Italian.
Many expected McLaren to be challenging for pole position after their dominant Sprint victory, but they encountered issues which led to Norris and Piastri finishing in P4 and P7, respectively.
Kimi Antonelli delivers when it counts 👏 But Verstappen right behind him? This isn’t over yet 👀
Read the full report from Miami Qualifying below 👇
Max Verstappen can see ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ after impressive Miami qualifying
Speaking after the session, Verstappen admitted that he ‘never felt comfortable’ with the layout of the RB22 in previous races.
The Dutchman also stated that following several upgrades and changes, he is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
As reported by Sky Sports, Verstappen said: “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 never felt comfortable with the layout of the car.
“Over the last few weeks, the team has been pushing flat out to try to bring upgrades to the car and make me feel more comfortable with a lot of things in the car.
“And it really pays off, I feel more in control of the car again, and 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 this weekend.”
Four different teams in the top spots in qualifying for the Miami GP… But who’s taking the win? 🏆
Let us know in the comments below!
READ MORE: Martin Brundle saw Max Verstappen ‘starting to trust’ his Red Bull F1 car during Miami Sprint
He continued: “Let’s first start with a good start. I’ve not had a lot of them this year. We’ll try to have a look at that, 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 push on and try to close the gap further. Race pace looked alright in the Sprint once I was in clean air. Tomorrow is a completely different day.”
Reacting to Verstappen’s qualifying performance, Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok suspects that the Dutchman has found another gear after Red Bull made some much-needed improvements to the RB22.
Chandhok said: “I wonder as the Red Bull has got more competitive, has Max Verstappen found another gear? He’s been outstanding today.”
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