Max Verstappen puts on masterclass at the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2023.
After unfortunate luck due to a red flag and of his own fault running wide in qualifying, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen had to start from ninth on the starting grid where hen delivered a driving masterclass to take a thrilling win in this weekend’s FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX. In front of a sell-out crowd, Verstappen came through the field to overtake his team-mate Sergio Perez twice. Once towards the first part of the race and a second with just nine laps to go after finally pitting for new tires. As the pair went wheel-to-wheel at Turn 1 on lap 48, the crowd leapt to their feet to celebrate. It was a thrilling end to the second-ever Formula 1 race held at the state-of-the-art Miami International Autodrome.
Verstappen’s 38th victory in his career and his second in Miami Gardens extended the Dutchman’s lead over his team-mate Perez at the top of the FIA Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship to 14 points. His performance was particularly impressive given his starting position of ninth on the grid. Max chose to start on the hard tire, the majority ahead of him began on mediums, meaning he ran longer into the race before making his pitstop. The win in Miami also was career win number 38 for Verstappen, putting him tied with Sebastian Vettel for most wins by a Red Bull driver.
“Today was a good day, I stayed out of trouble at the beginning and I had a smooth race, I picked the cars off one by one," said Verstappen post race. “I had a good stint on the hard tires which I think was integral to the win today. I had a good battle with Checo towards the end there too. I of course had the advantage with the new tires but I think that’s what we like to see, we are free to race. Yesterday was a bit of a setback, today we kept it calm and clean, and winning the race from P9 was very satisfying.”
Red Bull Racing Max Verstappen races at the Miami Grand Prix. | Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media
Red Bull Racing's Sergio Perez attempts to hold off teammate Max Verstappen at the Miami Grand Prix. | Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso joined the Red Bull pair on the podium to record his fourth top-three finish of the season ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell. Behind them Carlos Sainz finished fifth, but his final classification included a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
Throughout the 57-lap event there was action up and down the field with drivers running on alternate tyre strategies and taking advantage of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) ensuring there was plenty of overtaking action at three main areas: Turn 1, Turn 11 and at the end of the back straight into Turn 17. The quality of the racing and the excellent reliability meant all 20 cars made the checkered flag — with South Florida’s very own Logan Sargeant the final runner to finish the race.
The overtaking action was so good, that at one stage Fernando Alonso came across on his team radio to complement a move his team-mate Lance Stroll had made late in the race, having watched the pass on one of the circuit’s big screens as he was driving around the track. Alonso started the race on the medium Pirelli compound and made his one and only pitstop on lap 25, four laps after Perez. When the time came for Verstappen to finally stop to change his hard compound tires (at the end of lap 45) he emerged just 1.5s behind his team-mate. Despite a spirited attempt from Perez to hold Verstappen back, the decisive move for the lead of the race took place into Turn 1 on lap 48.
“Well done to Max, he had a tremendous race and deserved to win, I am really happy for him," spoke Perez post race. “It is not always nice when you lead the race and end up second, certainly I didn’t have the pace of Max and it is something we are going to analyze to see how we can do better. When I saw how strong Max was coming through the field and I was struggling a bit, I thought ‘this isn’t looking too good’. It would have been a gamble on strategy to start on the hard tyre from pole position. Of course, I wanted to win but I knew early on the race was looking tricky for us. This is one to learn from because clearly Max had the fastest pace. I think the performance Max showed today was not reachable for me, so I have to understand why. I think some was tyre related but equally, overall, he was the stronger driver today. There was maybe a bit more we could have done; it is a bit of a shame really but in general, on a tough weekend P2 is not a bad result. We will review the weekend. I want to get back strong for Imola and get back to our normal level.”
With the 1-2 finish, Red Bull racing has won every race with Verstappen winning three of the first five and Perez the other two with both finishing first or second multiple times this season.
“Another fantastic performance from the Team," added Team Principle Christian Horner. “It was a big win for the second time here in Miami, our 5th victory and our 4th 1-2 of the year – all from 1st and 9th on the grid – a huge performance. Max starting on the hard tire was a risk. Our simulators were telling us it would prove a slower race than on the mediums. He wanted to take that chance and he made it work, particularly from lap 20 to lap 42. His pace on that worn tire was superior. He was able to match and sometimes better Checo’s pace. Sergio drove a brilliant race and he knew that 19.8 was the magic number to keep Max behind, but with Max then switching to the softs, with the extra grip and the phenomenal pace he has been carrying all weekend, he was away. The two of them raced hard and raced fairly which is what we asked of them. They both gave it their all as did everyone both here and back at Milton Keynes. It was a fantastic Team effort.”
