Verstappen’s mad chase for victory. The Dutchman overtook his rivals like poles

Max Verstappen started the Miami Grand Prix from ninth place, but this did not prevent him from achieving victory. The Dutchman drove a flawless race, took great care of the tyres, and proved that Red Bull has a huge advantage over its F1 rivals.

This weekend, Formula 1 drivers complained about tarmac grip in Miami, and the situation was further complicated by the rain that appeared in Florida overnight from Saturday to Sunday. As a result, the rubber applied to the surface over the previous two days was completely washed away, and the teams were able to dump tire wear data into the container.

Sergio Pérez made the best start from the start blocking Fernando Alonso’s attacks. Max Verstappen took care of the right width. The Dutchman, after problems with the “time trial”, started from ninth, but lost one position in the first metres. Perhaps the hard tires had something to do with it, as the Dutchman chose a different strategy than most of his F1 rivals.

As soon as Verstappen got up to speed, he started passing his rivals like poles. As a result, after a dozen or so laps, he was running second, just behind his teammate. When on lap 20 Perez entered the pit lane for a new set of tires, the reigning world champion became the leader of the Miami Grand Prix.

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An equally impressive pace was not set by Charles Leclerc, the cause of confusion from Saturday’s qualifying. The Monegasque rider got the better of Kevin Magnussen right after the start, but Dane’s counterattack was too quick. As a result, the Ferrari driver was stuck in seventh place for several laps. After pit stops, the 25-year-old fell outside the top ten and didn’t have the pace to chase his rivals.

Carlos Sainz has ruled himself out of the podium fight. Although the Spaniard lost third place after steering Max Verstappen, he had a better pace than Fernando Alonso, which allowed him to be believed to take a place in the “box”. However, during the pit stops, the Ferrari driver exceeded the speed limit, for which he received a 5-second penalty from the stewards.

“The sooner we delay this pit stop, the better,” Verstappen was told on lap 34, still leading due to his absence from the pit lane. At this point, the Dutchman had a 16-second advantage over Perez, but he was also aware that after replacing the wheels, he would have softer tires and a softer compound.

The GP Miami team was played by Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton, who also started the race on the hard tyre, gained a lot of positions and was overtaken by George Russell on the second stage of the race. – I appreciate it very much and thank you, – said the youngest of the Britons, who thus advanced to sixth place. This maneuver also made Russell a contender for the podium.

The closer to the end of the race, the clearer it becomes that Verstappen will win the Miami GP. Although the Dutchman delayed the pit drop to the mechanics, he was still able to increase his lead over Perez on the worn tyres. Finally, the world champion made his pit stop on lap 46, leaving the pit lane 1.5 seconds behind his teammate.

The Dutchman needed “two wheels” to overtake Perez and move to the front of the pack again. Verstappen fully deserved the win, and the fans can be glad the Dutchman started the race from such a remote position. Thanks to that we had at least a little bit of emotion at GP Miami.

F1 – GP Miami – Race – Results:

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