Dutchman Max Verstappen has won the Formula 1 premiere in Miami. In a race over 57 laps that was only exciting at the end, the world champion in the Red Bull on Sunday won 3.7 seconds ahead of the world championship leader Charles Leclerc, who started from pole. His Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz saved third place once morest second Red Bull driver Sergio Perez. With his third win of the season, Verstappen made up eight points on Leclerc in Florida and is only 19 points behind.
Laps under the highway
Leclerc went into the fifth race of the season 27 points ahead of world champion Verstappen. By then both had won two races each. The Miami International Autodrome made its debut on the racing calendar in 2022. Around the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins football team, a 5.412-kilometre-long, initially bumpy and slippery hybrid street circuit was built for Formula 1 in the parking lots of the city, which partly runs under a motorway junction .
Celebrity guests
The hype regarding the race, which was tailored entirely to American enthusiasm, was accordingly. Remaining tickets were traded for up to $15,000. The paddock was teeming with celebrities. Sights included David Beckham, Michael Douglas, Tom Brady, Mario Andretti, DJ Khaled, the Williams Tennis sisters, Shawn Mendes, Lindsey Vonn and Michelle Obama. Luis Fonsi sang the US anthem before the race.
Of course, the drivers’ criticism of the new route was unmistakable right from the start. It is – especially off the ideal line – extremely slippery and also dangerous. The focus was primarily on the extremely narrow “go-kart chicane” under the motorway. Elsewhere, the impacts of Carlos Sainz’s and Esteban Ocon’s cars measured 47 and 55 G respectively in the same location.
Red Bull’s adviser Helmut Marko had expected rain for the race and therefore “one or two” safety car phases. In the duel with Ferrari, the Austro-British team had around 8 km/h more top speed on the straights thanks to appropriate wing tuning, while the reds from Maranello were unbeatable in the slow corners.
Leclerc also owed his third pole of the season to a driving error by Verstappen on Saturday in the last part of qualifying. Ultimately, following a front row lockdown, the Ferraris started the race from the first row in front of the two Red Bulls from Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Tire problems at Ferrari
Verstappen, who started from P3, pushed past Sainz and was quickly second behind Leclerc. With an air temperature of 30 degrees and a track temperature of 45 degrees Celsius, it only took nine laps before the faster Red Bull driver actually took the lead thanks to DRS. As expected, Leclerc did not succeed in reverse, and the Ferrari driver also had tire problems and almost slipped off the track once.
Verstappen quickly had the race under control and a three-and-a-half second lead when everyone pitted on lap 25 to switch to the harder tires. Verstappen only switched to Leclerc and doubled his lead thanks to perfect team mechanics.
The race was idling along when, on the 41st of 57 laps, Lando Norris’ McLaren blew a rear tire following colliding with Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri. The subsequent safety car phase played into the hands of the drivers, who had risked exactly the same thing in terms of tires. Fourth-placed Sergio Perez even got soft tires, with Verstappen, Leclerc and Carlos Sainz the first three finished the race with old tires.
Leclerc chased Verstappen in the finish in the fight for victory, Perez tried to get on the podium past Sainz. The Mexican made a joke with an unsuccessful brute force maneuver, Leclerc was no longer able to get past Verstappen despite the DRS advantage. “I tried to the end, but they had better pace,” explained Leclerc. Positions five and six went to Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
Just behind Niki Lauda
“What a race, that was great,” said Verstappen following his 23rd GP victory, which means he is only missing two successes on Niki Lauda’s mark. The world champion was exhausted because of the heat. “I think I need a drink,” admitted the Dutchman, who scored 26 points with his third win of the season in the fifth race plus a bonus point for the fastest lap and made sure that the Austrian national anthem might be heard in the “Sunshine State”.
Marko praised his one-pilot. “An incredible race. It was difficult for Max to keep the pressure off. Then he fended off DRS twice. It’s a shame regarding Perez, there might have been two podium places.” (apa)
