04/05/2025 12:40
Christian Horner has apologised to Kimi Antonelli after Red Bull,
via Max Verstappen, ruined the Mercedes drivers' sprint at the
Miami Grand Prix. The 18-year-old had started the
one-third-distance race in Florida on pole, but lost the lead - and
a number of places - at the first corner. On a drying circuit, the
field began filing into the pits to swap onto slick Pirelli tyres,
when disaster struck. Coming in together on lap 13 of 18 in third
and fourth, respectively, Verstappen attempted to pull out of his
pit box just as Antonelli was coming into his. The pair collided,
causing damage to the front wing of the Red Bull and, painfully,
preventing the Mercedes from making its way into its own pit box at
all, thus essentially consigning Antonelli to a drive through
penalty before successfully pitting for fresh rubber the following
lap. "Guys, come on!" Verstappen exclaimed over team radio in
response to the Red Bull miscalculation, with the stewards handing
down a 10-second time penalty to the four-time F1 drivers' champion
for an unsafe release, dropping him from fourth to P17 at the
chequered flag. The incident left Antonelli to finish outside the
points on the road in P11, before multiple penalties, including the
Dutchman's, elevated him back up to seventh - but still a far cry
from his high hopes for the race. Whilst Verstappen went on to
claim a superb pole position for the grand prix later on in the
afternoon, Horner was quick to say sorry to the Italian driver for
the error. "The sprint race, that was tough," the 51-year-old told
Sky Sports F1 . "Really unfortunate. "It was a human error. We have
to apologise to Kimi. These things happen, but as a team, we look
at it, we work out: 'Okay, where can we be better?'" The Briton
highlighted how the raised stakes of the moment contributed to the
mistake, with both McLarens having not pitted from the lead and
presenting an opportunity to capitalise on. "You're talking about a
judgement of about a metre," Horner explained. "And of course,
there was the undercut potentially on. "The determination is to try
and get the car back out there, but it was just a misjudgement. It
can happen. But it just demonstrates you're always learning in this
business."
