picked up a 10-second time penalty for a pit-lane crash with at the Miami Grand Prix sprint race. The Dutchman was released into the path of the Mercedes driver after an error from his team. The two drivers were in the pit lane as the track conditions swung from the intermediate tyres towards the soft. However, after a strong stop, the Red Bull engineers neglected to hold Verstappen for an extra split second, which would have allowed Antonelli to clear him and pull into his stall.
This meant that Verstappen had nowhere to go with Antonelli on his outside. He slammed on the brakes, but the pair made contact, shattering the four-time world champion's front wing endplate and stopping the Mercedes driver from making a stop. "Guys, come on," the Dutchman complained on the radio.
Despite Verstappen doing the best he could to avoid the incident, the stewards opted to issue him a 10-second time penalty for the unsafe release. The race ended under safety car conditions, meaning he dropped from fourth to 17th, last of the drivers who took the chequered flag.
This penalty had extra consequences for the 27-year-old's Drivers' Championship fight. Lando Norris capitalised on a fortunately-timed safety car to snatch the win from team-mate Oscar Piastri, but both title rivals gained significant ground on Verstappen in the standings.
Despite building his lead over Verstappen, Piastri was frustrated after the chequered flag. The Australian was heading for a sprint victory before an unfortunately-timed safety car cycled him behind his team-mate after all pit stops were complete.
"I did pretty much everything right," he said. "A bit disappointed to come away with second, but that's how it goes sometimes. Racing is a pretty cruel business. Hopefully, that means I get a bit of luck this afternoon in qualifying and tomorrow. But, another great start, and I had to get my elbows out in that one. Happy with what I did."
Miami Grand Prix sprint race results1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
4. Alex Albon (Williams)
5. George Russell (Mercedes)
6. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
7. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
8. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
9. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
10. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
11. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
12. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
13. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
14. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
15. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
16. Jack Doohan (Alpine)
17. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
DNF - Fernando Alonso
DNF - Carlos Sainz
DNS - Charles Leclerc
