Involved in a tough battle at the start of the race, Max Verstappen responded bluntly to Carlos Sainz’s criticism after their clash.
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The Grand Prix held at the Miami International Autodrome offered a particularly lively first lap. After a spin in the very first corners, Max Verstappen found himself plunged into the heart of the pack.
In this unusual situation, the Dutchman quickly crossed paths with Carlos Sainz and his teammate Alexander Albon, in an intense fight for points.
Sainz criticizes an aggressive maneuver
At the end of the first lap, Verstappen attempted a very forceful inside attack on Sainz. A move considered borderline by the Spaniard, who did not hide his annoyance after the race.
“I had a very good start and I had a lot of speed, but I had to slow down after Max’s spin, explains Sainz. People were attacking very hard, I don’t know why, as if they wanted to crash.”
“What he did in turn 17 almost looked like an attack thinking that, since we are in the pack, we would inevitably let him pass” he believes.
A understandable frustration
According to Sainz, this maneuver is also explained by Verstappen’s race context, frustrated after his initial mistake.
“It was maybe a bit of frustration after his spin, trying to come back as fast as possible” he analyzes.
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Even though he acknowledges it was a racing incident, the Spaniard admits he feared a collision.
“At that moment, I really thought we were going to crash, and I was forced off the track” he confides, regretting having lost several positions in the incident.
Verstappen responds with irony
Asked about these criticisms, Verstappen did not seek to engage in controversy. His brief and vivid response sums up his feelings after diving into the battles of the pack.
“I don’t know… it’s a bit of a jungle in the pack, so I don’t know what to say” he says.
This exchange illustrates the tension that can prevail in the pack when drivers used to the front find themselves involved in tighter battles.
In such a competitive context, every position is defended aggressively, sometimes turning the track into a real battlefield… or, as Verstappen describes it, a “jungle”.
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