Max Verstappen won the Miami Grand Prix with a superbly executed comeback drive from ninth place to maintain his lead of the Formula One world championship. The Red Bull driver beat his teammate Sergio Pérez into second, with the Mexican unable to resist Verstappen’s late charge to reclaim the lead at the Miami International Autodrome. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was third, Mercedes’s George Russell in fourth and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in fifth. Lewis Hamilton came from 13th to sixth for Mercedes.
Verstappen was in fine form at the circuit that winds its way round the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins NFL team. He delivered a flawless succession of quick laps on a tyre strategy that proved to be crucial in giving him the advantage over Pérez who had started from pole. It was another exhibition from the world champion that demonstrated why he remains the strong favourite to take a third title this season.
The win extends Verstappen’s lead in the world championship over Pérez to 14 points after five meetings.
Verstappen had made an error in qualifying, compromising his first quick run and had much to do on Sunday. He has made some remarkable comeback drives, including from 14th to victory at Spa last year and in Jeddah this season when he took just 25 laps to move from 15th to second. Given how difficult overtaking was at Miami this was also impressive even with the Red Bull’s formidable straight-line speed under DRS. However behind Verstappen’s charge in Miami it was a somewhat tame affair.
Before the race F1 had introduced its new pre-race ceremony, that is likely to be employed at eight races this season. This grand hoopla, it is understood not entirely popular with drivers, saw them introduced to the crowd as they walked out to the grid one by one with rapper LL Cool J announcing each with a theatrical flourish. Were this not enough they also arrived to an honour guard of cheerleaders and the backing of a 30-piece, black-tie orchestra, conducted by singer and songwriter will.i.am standing on a pedestal, before taking their places on the grid for the national anthem.
It was a grandstand opening for a race that largely proved all too pedestrian. Overtaking, as had been expected, was a somewhat onerous task because of a lack of grip which leaves the Miami track for all the razzmatazz and emphasis on putting on a grand show, lacking in the one area that matters most. If it is to be a destination city race as the promoters and F1 so desperately desire, there needs to be more focus on actually allowing the cars to go racing.
Pérez had held his lead well into turn one, while Verstappen dropped to 10th a place he swiftly made back on the opening lap but he was six seconds back from Pérez already. The Mexican was certainly not hanging around putting almost two seconds on Alonso within six laps.
Verstappen was wasting no time, however. He pulled off a superb opportunistic pass to take Kevin Magnussen and Charles Leclerc as they fought one another, taking a slingshot up the inside on the main straight to claim sixth by lap four.
After a series of fastest laps and with DRS on the back straight Verstappen passed Russell for fifth on lap nine into turn 17 and crucially was staying well within a five-second range of his teammate leading the race. Pierre Gasly fell to the Dutchman in the same way a lap later.
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By lap 14 Verstappen had caught both Sainz and Alonso. Sainz was powerless to resist as the Dutchman took third. Alonso was similarly dismissed, with Verstappen having reached second place just 15 laps into the race and now trailing Pérez by under four seconds.
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The hard tyres with which Verstappen started the race were proving very quick while Pérez had started on the mediums putting the two drivers on differing strategies. Pérez duly pitted to take the hard rubber on lap 21, while Verstappen took the lead to go long.
Behind them the race was once more something of a procession, while Verstappen eked out the most from his rubber with a 15-second lead, looking to be able to go at his teammate with fresh tyres in the final third. His superb pace on the worn rubber proved enormously decisive.
The lead was 18 seconds when the world champion pitted on lap 45 and he emerged under two seconds behind with 12 laps to go. With fresh rubber and a light fuel load, Verstappen was ruthless in making it count. He swept past Pérez for the lead two laps later, from where he cantered to the flag by over five seconds.
Leclerc was seventh for Ferrari, Gasly and Esteban Ocon in eighth and ninth for Alpine and Magnussen in tenth for Haas.
