Max Verstappen swears in Miami GP practice amid Red Bull problem that FIA probed

05 May 2023 , 23:03

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Max Verstappen was annoyed about being uncomfortable in his Red Bull in Miami GP practice (Image: Lynne Sladky/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Max Verstappen could not mask his frustration as he swore angrily over the radio about a continuous problem he was suffering in Miami practice.

The defending Formula 1 champion was uncomfortable in the cockpit of his car as he suffered a problem with his headrest. And he made sure his Red Bull team knew about it with a tetchy radio message just a few minutes into FP2 on Friday.

"Mate, my f***ing headrest again. I'm just stuck all the time in my head," he told race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. And it wasn't long before he was back in the pits so the team could investigate further what the problem was.

Last weekend in Baku, Verstappen also struggled for comfort with the headrest playing up there too. The FIA launched an investigation into him amid concerns that his car was in an "unsafe condition", but it was soon confirmed that there were no major issues found.

Reacting to Verstappen's message, Sky Sports pundit Anthony Davidson hypothesised: "There's a tether that goes around the back of the HANS device and it should be free-flowing through this latch that it goes through, like a clasp that goes over the top of the device," he said in commentary.

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"It's like a mini seat belt – and then that clips onto the helmet. Sometimes, for whatever reason, it can get caught in that clasp and it momentarily stops you from looking from one direction to the other. It's so annoying."

Christian Horner confirmed the problem and that his team had a fix (Getty Images)

Sky cameras showed the FIA's technical delegate make his way down to the pit lane to the Red Bull garage after Verstappen returned. Clearly, he was making sure that everything was safe with that HANS device, which is mandated by the governing body.

Speaking to Sky during the session, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed Davidson's theory that it was the tether which was irritating his driver.

He explained: "It's very much a prescriptive part. There’s a part of it that's catching on the back of the headrest. We need to get permission from the FIA to make sure that any modifications are compliant. I think we've got a quick fix for it now."

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc was the biggest loser in practice as he crashed his Ferrari. The Monegasque lost grip with a few minutes left of FP2 and buried the front of his car in the Tec-pro barrier, destroying his front wing and causing damage to the front suspension.

Daniel Moxon