Max Verstappen was not without a drink during Grand Prix Miami

Max Verstappen announced over the on-board radio after the Miami Grand Prix that he could use a drink. It was suggested that Red Bull had sent its driver out without water in sweltering Miami in order to save weight. But is this so? The ‘mystery’ has now been unraveled.

Verstappen was exhausted after the Grand Prix in Miami and lurking on a bottle of drink on the floor. When he crossed the line as the winner, he immediately let his team know that he could use a drink. Not surprising, of course, because it was sweltering hot in Miami. Normally the drivers also have something to drink on board, but Robert Doornbos, among others, said that he would not be surprised if Red Bull had decided not to give water to Verstappen. Did Red Bull deliberately send its driver on the road without the much-needed moisture? “It is an extra kilo of ballast”, said Doornbos at the Race Café of Ziggo Sports† Verstappen eventually came up with the redeeming answer to this question himself.

A lot of fluid loss during the Miami Grand Prix

The race weekend in Miami was finished in high temperatures. During the Grand Prix on Sunday it was about 34 degrees Celsius. When you have to perform top sport under these conditions – dressed in a sweltering race suit – you know that you will lose a lot of moisture. In such a situation it is important that you try to supplement this by drinking regularly. But a drinking system with a liter of water on board a Formula 1 car already means at least an extra kilo of weight. And Verstappen’s car, the RB18, is actually too heavy. Doornbos would therefore not be surprised if Red Bull had decided to omit the drinking system from Verstappen in Miami.

Doornbos: ‘No drinks in the car for Verstappen in Miami? Wouldn’t surprise me’read more

Drinking system provides extra weight car

“Installing a hydration system in the car, the engineers are currently thinking about that, because that is another kilo of ballast,” said Doornbos, who then indicated that Red Bull also thought about omitting the hydration system last year in Zandvoort. . “On a circuit of 4.8 kilometers, which is Zandvoort, you give three hundredths as a gift.” It will therefore undoubtedly have been a topic of discussion within Red Bull in Miami, but Verstappen has now stated that he had ‘normal’ drinks on board.

Verstappen drank a liter during the race in Miami

Verstappen has stated that he lost “up to three kilos” during the Miami Grand Prix. Although he did not fully compensate for his fluid loss, he still had drinks on board his RB18. “I think I drank a liter of water during the race,” he was quoted as saying by The Telegraph† However, Verstappen seemed to have no more water left at the end of the race, because he informed his team over the on-board radio that he could use a drink.

At the Miami International Autodrome, Verstappen drank about a liter and, according to Doornbos and Olav Mol, that is also about the amount that drivers receive from their team during the race. “One and a half maximum”, said Mol, who also sat at the table during the broadcast of Ziggo Sports.