Although he readily admits that his car is competitive, 2021 F1 world champion Max Verstappen is nonetheless beginning to worry about the reliability problems that have plagued the Milton Keynes-based team since the start of the Formula 1 season; the Dutchman warns Red Bull Racing that this is a big issue required to be resolved, fast.

Since the start of the 2022 F1 season, the lack of reliability at Red Bull has already cost Max Verstappen two retirements, while team mate Sergio Perez also suffered a retirement at the Bahrain Grand Prix and lost a potential podium finish last Sunday in Miami due to a loss of power in the race. In Miami, Max Verstappen had problems with his RB18 in the second free practice session on Friday, forcing his team to change the gearbox on his car, while a hydraulic problem also affected his F1 car once the Dutchman was on track.

In the end, Verstappen was unable to complete a single timed lap on Friday afternoon in Miami on a circuit he had only just started learning, but this did not prevent him from taking victory on Sunday ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. After the race, the Red Bull driver insisted that “random” reliability could become a big problem in the battle for the championship, a big issue was his warning.

“I had a lot of problems on Friday [in P2], which compromises your weekend and especially [qualifying]. Of course, in the race everything went well, but it could have been the other way around,” said Max Verstappen after the Miami Grand Prix.

“I think we really need to set ourselves up to have a positive weekend, without any problems. That was the case at Imola [where he also won], but it’s a bit too random. We just need to make sure we are more reliable and more aware of things,

“After that, the car is fast, I’m happy with that, so being reliable but slow is probably not a good thing either.”

After the Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen is second in the drivers’ championship, 19 points behind Charles Leclerc, while Red Bull is second in the constructors’ championship, six points behind Ferrari.