After suffering significant injuries in a crash on Lap 20, Red Bull CEO Christian Horner argued that Max Verstappen’s second-place finish at the Miami Grand Prix was a “pretty decent result”.

Horner stated that Verstappen lost “two and a half tenths every lap” as a result of the bollard he struck while leading the race. In the end, McLaren driver Lando Norris took advantage and won his maiden Formula 1 race; Verstappen was forced to settle for second place.

“He hit the bollard around Lap 20 and that’s actually done quite a lot of damage to the underside of the car,” Horner revealed after the race. “So we’ll have to look at exactly what the effects of that was.

“But he had enough pace at that point, he was pulling clear of Oscar [Piastri] behind and Lando before he picked up that damage and then, obviously, thereafter we then pitted. And yeah, the safety car came out at the best time for Lando, which gave him essentially a free stop.

“But, obviously, not great for us because then you’re on tyres six or seven laps older. And with the damage, I think that actually second place was actually still a pretty decent result.

“He lost two and a half tenths every lap in turn one. Now whether that was because of the damage, I think when you actually see the pictures of what was missing it wasn’t designed like that.”

Verstappen, in the meantime, wished Norris well on his triumph and promised Red Bull would “come back stronger” in Italy. “I’m thrilled for Lando; he deserves this today, since it’s been a long time coming and it won’t be his last.

They arrived with an update, and while it appears to be functional, we still need to do some work. In terms of race pace, I believe it wasn’t our best weekend, but we’ll evaluate everything and work to improve.”

In the driver standings, Verstappen continues to dominate by a comfortable margin—33 points—ahead of his Red Bull colleague Sergio Perez. Meanwhile, Norris has moved up to fourth place, trailing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.