Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff strongly criticized Red Bull following a dangerous pit-lane collision during the Miami Grand Prix Sprint race, describing their actions as showing “a total lack of judgement.”
The incident occurred when both Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli pitted from third and fourth positions respectively to switch from intermediate to slick tyres on the drying track.
Antonelli was approaching his Mercedes pit box, situated directly ahead of Red Bull`s, as Verstappen`s stop was finishing. Red Bull released Verstappen just as Antonelli was turning into his stall, leading to brief contact between the cars.
Antonelli demonstrated impressive reflexes, turning back into the pit lane to avoid a potentially severe collision with his waiting pit crew.
Despite Verstappen not being personally responsible for the unsafe release, he received a 10-second penalty, which dropped him out of the points. Antonelli also finished outside the points after needing to pit again on the following lap.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted the unsafe release was a result of “human error,” but Wolff was clearly unhappy with the situation.
“If it was the main race it would be seriously annoying,” Wolff 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: Investigation Needed for Pit Error
This incident is the latest in a series of uncharacteristic pit-stop errors for Red Bull this season, following issues in Japan and Bahrain. Red Bull has long been considered the grid`s best in this area, winning the fastest pit stop award for the last seven years, making these recent struggles highly unusual.
Verstappen stated that while the recent issues were different, the latest error requires investigation.
“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 recent pit-stop problems coincide with the departure of former sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, who oversaw their pit lane operations before leaving to become Sauber team principal.
Former world champion and Sky Sports F1 pundit Jenson Button suggested Red Bull is taking “too long” to adjust to Wheatley`s absence.
Button commented: “It`s such a high-pressure situation… 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.”
Antonelli “Annoyed” by Piastri`s First Corner Move
Antonelli, who had earlier made history by becoming the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history, lost the lead almost immediately to Oscar Piastri.
The pair went side by side into the first corner, with Piastri on the inside. Antonelli claimed he was “pushed off,” going wide and dropping to fourth place.
“A bit annoyed about lap one, with how it went,” Antonelli told Sky Sports F1. “It seems like it`s like this, that you can do basically whatever you want. So it`s good to know for the future. Definitely it`s a shame but luckily we have a qualifying to bounce back.”
Piastri, who performed a similar move on Verstappen at Turn 1 in Saudi Arabia, felt he had done nothing wrong.
He stated: “I had a really good start. Obviously, got alongside, and I think we probably both braked a little bit later than we should have. There was a bit of contact, but I pulled it up still pretty comfortably. With that move, it would have won me the sprint if there was no Safety Car, so it was a good first lap.”
Wolff: Driving Standards Precedent is Unsafe
Recent incidents, including Piastri`s moves on Verstappen and Antonelli, have brought F1`s racecraft rules and driving standards under scrutiny.
Following controversial incidents last year, the F1 Driving Standards Guidelines were updated for the current season. The revised rules effectively allow the driver on the inside line to force their rival wide, provided they stay within track limits themselves, without needing to leave space on the outside. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes this change is problematic.
“We are not setting a good precedent. You just release the brake and push the other guy off,” he told Sky Sports F1. “You need to leave a car`s space but it`s creeped in that in Turn 1, he pushed him out. It`s Kimi`s sixth race and he`s learned the lesson this is what you need to do. I don`t entirely agree with that but that`s how we`ve allowed it for a few years now.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella offered a differing view, stating: “I think there are relatively clear guidelines and also the interpretation of the stewards that we not only trust, but also rely on in terms of setting the standards, so that`s the standards for everyone. If you look at Oscar`s position approaching corner one, Oscar staying on track all the way, I think that belongs to the category of clean manoeuvres.”
