Credits: Imago/ Beautiful Sports

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez nearly collided at the start of the 2024 Miami GP, which could have caused disaster for Red Bull. Thankfully, their race didn’t end on the first corner itself. But Verstappen reveals that they did touch.

In the press conference following the Miami GP, Verstappen admitted being “aware” of how close Perez got to him. Verstappen saw him lunge in and lock up as he failed to overtake the drivers ahead of him.

“I looked after the race, there was a scratch on my diffuser. Something must have hit. But yeah, it was very close.” 

Verstappen was unaware of the ‘scratch’ on his car until he got out. However, he brought it up while talking about Perez, suggesting that it was the 34-year-old who made contact with him on the first lap of the race.

Verstappen maintained his lead despite the nervy moment courtesy of Perez. However, his weekend did not go uphill from there. Later, he suffered damage to his floor and hit a cone on turn 15, which affected his outing.

Forced to make an unscheduled pitstop, Verstappen didn’t find the pace to overtake eventual race winner Lando Norris, for whom the Dutchman had very kind words.

Max Verstappen wanted Lando Norris to beat him

Verstappen has dominated F1 since 2022, but with Ferrari and McLaren finally improving their performance, the Red Bull driver’s days of consistently being at the top could be numbered.

Speaking to Viaplay after the Miami GP, Verstappen admitted that he would want Norris to be one of his regular challengers for race wins in the future.

“If someone has to beat me, it can be Lando [Norris].”

Verstappen’s misfortune and damage to the car could have aided Norris’ win, which came quite comfortably as he finished 7.6 seconds before the Dutch driver.

However, McLaren’s progress was evident. The Woking-based outfit brought in upgrades, and they worked wonders, allowing Norris to win his first race in 110 attempts and McLaren to win its first since 2021.