Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Bahrain, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

Miami Grand Prix

The Miami Grand Prix CURSE to blame for Max Verstappen horror show

Reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen had a Miami sprint nightmare

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 4 May 2025 12:53

Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen has been down on his luck at the Miami Grand Prix so far this weekend.

The Red Bull star was on track to score points during Saturday's sprint race before coming into the pits at the Miami International Autodrome, where he was involved in a collision with Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli.

Through no fault of his own, the Red Bull car was released into the path of Miami sprint pole sitter Antonelli, with Christian Horner later blaming 'human error' from the Red Bull garage over the rookie mistake.

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Strangely enough however, it now seems there could be a more mysterious force at work against Verstappen to explain his run of bad luck in the sunshine state.

Is Red Bull's superstar support to blame for Verstappen drop?

Having earned multiple titles in the pinnacle of motorsport both in the drivers' and constructors' championships, Verstappen and Red Bull are no strangers to hosting global superstars in their F1 garage.

At the 2024 Miami GP, LISA, a member of iconic K-pop group Blackpink, paid Verstappen a visit before the singer took to her duty of waving the chequered flag for Sunday's race.

Saturday's sprint race in Miami this year was hardly smooth sailing, with a crash for Charles Leclerc before the race even began, Verstappen's pit-lane contact with Antonelli and two DNFs for Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.

During the manic session, Sky F1's coverage revealed another Blackpink member was in attendance at the track, with fans taking to social media to speculate over a curse caused by the girl group.

After ROSE appeared on screen looking entertained by Saturday's eventful sprint, one X user commented: "If it goes like last year, Blackpink member at race + in Red Bull garage = Max's race is cursed."

Verstappen's day did in fact go from bad to worse after the human error from his Red Bull crew, with the stewards handing the Dutchman a 10-second penalty for the incident.

As it was a sprint, only the top eight drivers were handed championship points and with Verstappen pushed down to P17 (last place thanks to the numerous DNFs and a DNS) he did not score any.

The last time the 27-year-old came away from an F1 race without adding points to his tally was 3,170 days ago at the 2016 Belgian GP.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA issue Max Verstappen penalty as Miami GP starting grid CONFIRMED

Red Bull Max Verstappen Christian Horner Kimi Antonelli Miami Grand Prix