Max Verstappen says Red Bull have improved 'a lot' but pace still lacking

[p]The four-time world champion enjoyed driving a heavily upgraded car as he sought success for the first time this year, but was set back by a spin on the opening lap.[/p][p][b]"I lost the rear and tried to minimise the time loss,"[/b] he said of his chaotic first lap, which led to him making an early pit stop.[/p][p]"Early on, the hard tyre didn't work for us and it was tough," he added. "We dropped quite heavily down the pack.[/p][p][b]"Maybe I could've been in the place Oscar (Piastri) finished (third) if we did enough, but it's always easy to say that afterwards."[/b][/p][p][b]"Unfortunately, we are still lacking a bit, but we'll be better. I don't know how much more pace there is."[/b][/p][p]The Dutch racer, 28, said that despite the car's improvements, he did not think he could have realistically fought for the win in Miami.[/p][p][b]"It was tough," [/b]he said.[b] "We've improved a lot this weekend, but still lack a bit and for sure there's more pace to unlock."[/b][/p][embed guid="56a6d572-f82a-4abf-a228-c02ba29b8522" url="https://x.com/redbullracing/status/2051009164671926348?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Verstappen[/a]'s Red Bull teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hadjar-isack/8SAk38Ui/"]Isack Hadjar[/a] started from the back of the grid after being disqualified from qualifying and then crashed out of the race on lap six.[/p][p]He hit the barriers in the chicane and the crash triggered a Safety Car interval that helped Verstappen by giving him a cheap pit stop.[/p][p][b]"It was a tough one and for me, obviously, breaking the car is pissing me off a lot," [/b]said Hadjar.[b] "It was easy points today considering the car I had so I feel I just threw it all away.[/b][/p][p]"I can't really remember what happened because it went so very quickly. It felt like it was a big hit and I didn't see it coming. The car was broken and I couldn't stop it.[/p][p][b]"It just shows how much you need to be focused and I wasn't."[/b][/p]