Expectations for an exciting race in Miami were low but the street circuit surrounding the Dolphins stadium delivered a fairly decent spectacle on Sunday. Reigning two-time world champion Max Verstappen started from ninth on the grid, after a poor qualifying cut short by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who brought out a red flag on his final attempt.
From starting at P9 to finishing at Pole, Verstappen showcased his driving skills at the Miami GP 2023.
A victory seemed to be a tough ask for the Dutchman, considering his teammate snatched pole on Saturday and his established prowess on street circuits, however, Verstappen, who started on hard tyres, began breezing past the rest of the competition. Within no time, he was up with the front runners and, on lap 14, took second place from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and set his sights on the rear wing of his Mexican teammate.
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Alonso shares the podium with the two Red Bull drivers
Perez started on the medium tyres as it was touted to be the quicker option for the race start, however, Checo struggled to build a comfortable gap. The pair traded fastest laps for the majority of the race, and despite being on opposing strategies, Verstappen’s pace was starting to look very ominous for all his competitors. While most of the hard tyre runners, including drivers like Lewis Hamilton, opted to pit for mediums around the 35th lap, the championship leader extended his stint by a further ten laps.
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After pitting, Max had cut down Checo’s advantage to less than two seconds and was hot on his tail, after which a brief battle for the lead ensued. On lap 47, he made his decisive move and overtook his teammate and remained ahead of the pack to secure his 38th career win. Fernando Alonso and his Aston Martin team managed to secure the coveted "best of the rest" spot on the podium, marking their fourth top-three finish in five races since their new partnership.
Ferrari high on hells of the Mercedes driven by Geroge Russell
George Russell led the Mercedes charge and finished a commendable fourth. His teammate Lewis Hamilton, on a different race strategy, graciously moved aside to allow Russell to make his move, resulting in him overtaking Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz and claiming the position Sainz, unfortunately, faced a setback when he was penalised with a five-second time penalty for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane during a tire change. Despite the penalty, he maintained enough of a gap between himself, Hamilton, and his teammate Charles Leclerc, securing a respectable fifth-place finish as the chequered flag waved.
The incident at the pits that caused a time penalty for Carlos Sainz.
Ferrari star Charles Leclerc finished where he started but there was more than meets the eye to his race. He had a great battle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen (which doesn’t exactly bode well for the Maranello-based team) and eventually got past him, but not before falling victim to an almost effortless double overtake by the reigning champion. Leclerc eventually pit, coming out far outside the top ten but fought back to retain his original spot.
Lance Stroll trying to overtake the AlphaTauri driven by Yuki Tsunoda
Alpine, determined to bounce back from their challenging race in Baku, achieved double points finish. Pierre Gasly led the charge for the team, crossing the finish line ahead of his teammate Esteban Ocon.
Meanwhile, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen rounded out the points-paying positions after starting in an impressive fourth place. Yuki Tsunoda, who had previously scored points in Australia and Azerbaijan, narrowly missed out on yet another points finish in his AlphaTauri, settling for eleventh place. He successfully defended his position against Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, showcasing impressive defensive driving skills as they battled their way to the finish line.
The Red Bull Racing drivers grabbed first and second positions at the Miami GP
Valtteri Bottas, representing Alfa Romeo, initially ran within the points range but fell back to thirteenth place as the various tire strategies unfolded throughout the race. He was followed closely by Alex Albon in the Williams, Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas, and Bottas' teammate Zhou Guanyu.
McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had disappointing and uneventful races, finishing in seventeenth and nineteenth place, respectively. Notably, they were the only drivers to start the race on soft tires. Splitting them was Nyck de Vries in the other AlphaTauri, with Williams rookie and local fan favourite Logan Sargeant bringing up the rear after an early pit stop for a replacement front wing.
