Verstappen: It was not a good day for us

The reigning Formula 1 Champion had a tough opening day in Miami, as despite finishing third in FP1, he suffered from overheating problems on his Red Bull RB18, as things took a turn to the worse during FP2, as despite his team's best efforts, the Dutchman suffered a hydraulic failure that meant he only ran a solitary lap in the afternoon session.

"It was not a good day for us," Verstappen said in the post-session team report. "We wanted to get out there and learn the track and get fully up to speed but things didn’t go to plan.

"We just had some hydraulic issues, as soon as I went out I couldn’t really steer and also my brakes were on fire, so there were a few problems," he revealed.

"We don’t have a huge amount of information and data for my car which could prove difficult for qualifying and the race but we will do our best.

"Of course, I will try to catch up tomorrow, we will work very hard as a Team to overcome the issues and hopefully we will be in a good place come qualifying tomorrow," the Red Bull ace hoped.

Sergio Perez had a relatively better day than his teammate, finishing fourth and third in FP1 and FP2 respectively, but is concerned that reduced running caused by Red Flags could prove to be a worry for the team.

"It’s been a difficult day for every driver today," Perez said in Red Bull's press release. "I think it was a very messy session this afternoon, in total I did one medium lap and two soft laps.

"On the high fuel there was nothing we could do because of all the red flags and the time we lost. We are basically going blind into the race and I think most people are in the same boat as us.

"For qualifying we have more of an idea, but things can change very quickly with the weather around here," the Mexican added. "There isn’t much grip off the racing line on this track and it feels very gravely out there too, it is a shame because I think racing will be hard due to that.

"Saying that, I think it is going to be an interesting race because all of us don’t know exactly where we are," the two-time race winner concluded.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner explained the troubles that hit Verstappen in FP2, but is confident the 24-year-old can bounce back over the course of the weekend.

"We changed the gearbox and one of the coolers and he drives out and has a hydraulic issue which has unfortunately caused some damage to the brakes," Horner told Sky Sports F1.

"He got a few laps in, I think he has had five timed laps today which were all competitive," he added. "Thankfully due to the red flags he's not lost too much but it is frustrating not to have that track time.

"He will probably do a few more laps than normal in P3 to get used to the circuit," the Briton revealed.

"With a street circuit you just have to find your way into it but we know how good Max is at adapting to new circuits so I am sure he will catch that time up," Horner confidently concluded.

Red Bull have not been immune to reliability problems this year, as both their cars retired in the opening race in Bahrain, whereas Verstappen had a DNF in Melbourne.

After a strong showing at Imola two weeks ago, it seems that reliability is coming back to bite the energy drinks outfit in Miami.