Overview
- Laurent Mekies said Miami qualifying showed a clear step, with Max Verstappen six tenths off pole in sprint qualifying and under two tenths in Grand Prix qualifying.
- Verstappen earned a front‑row start, spun on the first lap, switched to a long run on hard tyres, and recovered to finish fifth.
- Mekies rated the race pace strong enough to fight for third to fifth, short of the leading two cars.
- The team stressed that problems remain and noted that rivals are set to bring new parts in Canada.
- Context from Mekies put the jump in perspective after being 1.2 seconds off pole in Japan and 1.0 seconds in China, with the Canadian Grand Prix widely viewed as the next proof point and Mercedes expected to unveil a bigger upgrade there.