“What the F**k is the Alpine Doing”: Max Verstappen Miami GP Troubles Bring Back Brutal Brazil 2018 Fight With Esteban Ocon

The Miami Sprint Race is over and Max Verstappen bags the win again! Heading to the qualifiers, things looked the Red Bull usual with the defending champion qualifying at the Pole position for the Main Race. But that came with a difficult car to drive as Verstappen reported after the race. However, that was not the only problem that the current world champion had during the qualifiers.

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon who infamously had a spat with Max Verstappen back in 2018 once again blocked the Red Bull driver during the qualifying. This led to an angry radio message from Verstappen which caught the attention of fans and teams alike.

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Back in 2018, Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon met with a small accident that led both drivers to retire from the race. During the Brazillian Grand Prix, Verstappen had lapped Ocon and in the latter driver’s attempt to unlap himself, the two drivers crashed at a chicane. This led to both of them not finishing the race and the current world champion confronting Ocon in an aggressive manner after the race.

This was a highly controversial moment with even F1 Pundits not being able to judge whose fault the crash really was. But the fact that Verstappen was hyper-aggressive with Ocon after all noticed the incident. So when Ocon blocked Verstappen this time, he exclaimed, “What the F**k is the Alpine Doing?” bringing back memories from the 2018 Brazil race.

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Verstappen team radio:

“What the **** was the Alpine doing?”

— formularacers (@formularacers_) May 4, 2024

While this time there was no contact between the two drivers, it was a close call during the qualifiers. In the end, Max Verstappen clocked in the fastest lap and will be starting the Miami Grand Prix pole position.

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The 6th consecutive pole of the seasonWith the Miami qualifiers, Max Verstappen achieves his 6th back-to-back pole in the season. This is a huge feat that was not obtained by any other driver except Alain Prost in 1993. Verstappen’s run also marks the first time that he has achieved a pole at the Miami International Autodrome which seems to be quite an unpredictable track. And the next two on the grid will be the shining Scuderia Ferrari blues, Charles Leclerc(P2), and Carlos Sainz (P3).

via Imago

Despite his pole, Max Verstappen mentioned the problems he had with his car stating, “I don’t know what it is, every single year we come here I find it extremely difficult to be consistent with the car feeling, with the tire feeling over one lap.” Verstappen added “I think we did OK. It’s not the most enjoyable lap of my career, but we’re on pole and that’s the most important.”

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That being said, do you think Max Verstappen will show such a pace during the race too or will it be one of the Blue Ferraris or McLaren? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.