Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has criticised Red Bull for showing “a total lack of judgement” in causing a dangerous pit-lane collision between Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen during the Miami Grand Prix Sprint.
Verstappen and Antonelli were running in third and fourth, respectively, when they both pitted at the end of lap 12 to swap their intermediate tyres for slicks on the drying circuit.
With Verstappen running several seconds ahead of Antonelli on track, the Iatter was approaching his Mercedes pit box, which sits directly in front of Red Bull’s, as the former’s stop was coming to an end.
Red Bull released Verstappen just as Antonelli was turning to come into his stop, causing the cars to make brief contact, before Antonelli showed superb reactions and judgement to turn back out into the pit lane and avoid a potentially nasty collision with his waiting pit crew.
Verstappen, who was personally not at fault for the incident, received a 10-second penalty which demoted him out of a points-scoring positions, while Antonelli had to pit again a lap later and also finished outside of the points.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff shares his thoughts on the two incidents involving Kimi Antonelli at the Miami Grand Prix Sprint
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted to Sky Sports F1 after the race that the unsafe release was a result of “human error”, but Wolff was left very unhappy.
“If it was the main race it would be seriously annoying,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“I was surprised by the total lack of judgement because it wasn’t even close to releasing without any security concerns.
“Somebody panicked there.”
Verstappen: We need to investigate error
The incident is the latest in a series of Red Bull pit-stop errors during the early stages of the season, with Verstappen having been hampered by a slow stop in Japan and a release-system issue in Bahrain.
The pit stop struggles are hugely uncharacteristic for Red Bull, who have long been considered the grid’s best in this department, winning the fastest pit stop award for the last seven years.
Verstappen said that the incidents were not related, but an investigation into the latest error is needed.
Max Verstappen says he felt relieved that no one was injured during their pit-stop blunder which saw the Red Bull driver released unsafely into the path of Kimi Antonelli
“They have all been different incidents [this year],” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1. “You can’t compare these things.
“We all don’t want that to happen but it happened. It’s something we need to investigate but I’m just happy no one got injured. With these cars if you hit someone, it’s not great.
“It’s super clear what happened, so there’s not much more for me to add.”
The incidents have followed the departure from Red Bull of former sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, who had overseen their pit lane operations before leaving to become Sauber team principal.
Highlights of the Sprint race from the Miami Grand Prix
Former world champion and Sky Sports F1 pundit Jenson Button believes it is taking Red Bull “too long” to adjust to Wheatley’s exit.
Button said: “It’s such a high-pressure situation. You can practice it all you want, but it’s the live pit stops where there’s so much pressure. If you lose two or three tenths that could be losing a victory. They are all under massive pressure.
“Jonathan Wheatley has been around forever. He is just set in his ways and does exactly the same every race. For someone trying to fill his shoes, it’s like filling a driver’s shoes in a new team, it takes time to adapt but it’s taking a little too long.”
Sky Sports F1’s Miami GP schedule
Saturday May 3
- 8.35pm: Miami GP Qualifying build-up*
- 9.15pm: MIAMI GP QUALIFYING*
- 11pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
The Miami Grand Prix is a unique experience, watch our favourite moments from the last few years!
Sunday May 4
- 6pm: F1 Academy Race 2
- 7.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Miami GP build-up*
- 9pm: THE MIAMI GRAND PRIX*
- 11pm: Chequered Flag: Miami GP reaction*
- Midnight: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Miami for a Sprint weekend, watch it all live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
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