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Max Verstappen says the difference between third and fourth place doesn’t matter to him after missing out on a podium finish in Miami.

The pole-winner was unable to keep the rapid McLarens behind in Miami, then slipped to fourth place when George Russell benefited from the timing of a Virtual Safety Car period.

After the race Lando Norris claimed Verstappen could have finished higher up had he not spent so long trying to defend his position from the McLaren drivers, losing time in the process. But Verstappen, who has won more grands prix than any driver besides Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, said he isn’t bothered by the loss of three points.

“They [McLaren] were flying,” he told Viaplay after the race. “Honestly, I tried to defend, have a bit of fun out there in the meantime, but it was of course, at the end, impossible to keep them behind.

“Then we got a bit unlucky with that VSC. So it’s not ideal, but at the end of the day, of course if you are here as a team, also of course we are aiming to win, right? That’s what we are competing for. Then it also doesn’t really matter so much if you’re P3 or P4.”

Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel with both McLaren drivers over the course of the race. While Oscar Piastri took advantage of a mistake by Verstappen to claim the lead, Norris got ahead once the Red Bull driver stopped defending his place. Verstappen said he found “no difference” between the pair in terms of their racing styles.

The result was the second time in the last three races Verstappen hasn’t reached the podium. Team principal Christian Horner admitted “we still have a lot of work to do on the car to find that ultimate race pace.”

“Max put up a staunch defence of his lead and position in the opening stint, but the VSC gave others the opportunity to capitalise on Max’s earlier stop and ultimately cost him a podium finish.”

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