F1 News: Red Bull Reveals Damage to Max Verstappen's Car After Bollard Take Down

Max Verstappen’s collision with a bollard during the Miami GP significantly damaged his Red Bull car, affecting his performance.

May 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) reacts after / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

During the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen's Red Bull sustained significant damage after striking a bollard, affecting his race performance. Despite the setback, Verstappen managed to secure a second-place finish behind McLaren's Lando Norris who took home his first-ever Grand Prix victory.

The Miami Grand Prix, a spectacle marked by its challenging track and high temperatures, witnessed a dramatic twist for Red Bull Racing when Max Verstappen, starting from pole, collided with a bollard at the tight Turn 13-14 section around the 20th lap. This incident had a profound impact on his RB20 car's performance, causing underbody damage that compromised his race pace significantly.

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner detailed the extent of the damage following the race.

"He hit the post around lap 20 and that caused quite a bit of damage to the underside of his car. We have to see what exactly the consequences were, but he had enough speed at that moment and drove away with Oscar Piastri behind him and Lando Norris before he suffered that damage," Horner explained,

The race had started favorably for Verstappen as he retained his pole position into the first corner, but the incident partway through the race altered the dynamics drastically. As a result, his car suffered a loss of approximately two and a half tenths per lap, a critical deficit in the highly competitive field of this season's grid. Horner speculated on the exact performance detriment.

"After that, of course, we went to the pits and the safety car came at the best time for Lando, which essentially gave him a free stop. But of course, it wasn't great for us because then you're on tires that are six or seven laps older With the damage, I think second place was actually a decent result."

"He lost two and a half tenths per lap in turn one, but whether that was due to the damage?"

The Miami circuit, known for its unique tire behavior and challenging layout, presented additional hurdles: "It is a difficult circuit and how the tires behave here is quite unique," Horner noted. "To get the result we have now is quite positive."

The early loss of performance necessitated a focus on damage limitation and maintaining position rather than outright aggression.

"Even though he had pole on Friday and Saturday in the sprint race, he was never completely happy with the balance of the car, actually the whole weekend."

Aside from Verstappen's woes, the Miami GP was rife with on-track battles. Notable was the performance of McLaren's Lando Norris, who capitalized on a timely safety car phase to take the lead and ultimately win the race. Other drivers, including Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, also navigated the complexities of the Miami circuit, each facing their own challenges and capturing crucial championship points, albeit with the latter dropping down to fifth after an overnight penalty due to his clash with Oscar Piastri.