Aside from Verstappen’s repeat victory from the ninth position and the fanfare on and off the circuit, here are some additional storylines from the weekend in Miami.
The euphoria from a successful second running of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix is still palpable in Miami. But even though the cars and the teams have left, there are still a few stories lingering from the weekend that you may see down the road in this 2023 season.
Bring Those Boos, Verstappen Does Not Care.
Max Verstappen produced a scintillating performance on the track to win his second consecutive Miami Grand Prix on Sunday as the 25-year-old shrugged off boos from some people in the crowd.
The Red Bull driver fought his way back from ninth on the grid to win his third race of the season, extending his lead at the top of the drivers championship to 14 points. Despite his statement victory, which only served to underline his current superiority, Verstappen was booed both before and after the race by a some fans at the track.
It’s not the first time Verstappen has received a negative reaction from the crowd. But Verstappen clapped back post race in the press conference to the fans slinging the boos.
“I think if I will be driving in the back nobody will be even doing anything in terms of reaction. I think it’s normal when you’re winning and they don’t like who is winning. This is something for me which is absolutely fine as long as I stand on the top, that’s for me the most important. I take the trophy home and they go back to their houses and they can have a nice evening."
To summarize, Verstappen went scoreboard on the fans. Will he continue to hear boos as the races shift towards Europe were the Dutch Orange Army can take over? Only time will tell.
New driver intros ceremony proves divisive.
After the race, there was a mixed reaction from the drivers to their grand Miami pre-race entrances, Lando Norris and George Russell leading the charge of those who were not in favor of the introductions seen pre-race.
The explosion of popularity which Formula 1 is enjoying has seen the United States become a key market for its expansion, and judging by the spectacle which the inaugural Miami Grand Prix was in 2022, a similar vibe was expected for the F1 2023 return.
That indeed was the case, and a new initiative for F1’s second visit was an introduction on the grid for every driver, complete with an entrance way, pyro, a live band and rapper LL Cool J on the mic.
It was not something though which went down well with many of the drivers, McLaren racer Norris for example claiming that “none of the drivers like it”, stating that they have a “limit” to what they can deal with and such initiatives push that boundary.
Mercedes’ George Russell was of a similar mindset. While he understands the “entertainment” side of things, he called this additional show “distracting” and would not like to see it become a regular occurrence. “Everyone has different personalities and I guess it’s the American way of doing sport. Personally it’s not for me, that’s my personal opinion, because I’m here to race. I’m not here for the show but I guess we have to roll with it."
A rare voice of support for these driver introductions did emerge, and it was none other than Russell’s Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
He confirmed that he was in “full support” of trying initiatives like these.
“I think it’s cool that the sport is continuously growing and evolving and they’re not just doing the same thing they’ve done in the past,” said Hamilton. “They’re trying new things, they’re trying to improve the show always, and I’m in full support of it."
On their best behavior
With hot and humid temperatures and a street circuit that demands full attention, many predicted the Miami International Autodrome could serve up some drama. But despite plenty of overtaking and a newly resurfaced track that provided less grip, it was a very disciplined affair, an oddity for the 2023 season.
All cars crossed the finish line for the 11th time in F1’s history—no crashes, mechanical failures, or race-ending driver mistakes. No yellow flags were issued to prepare for an incident on or off the track ahead. In addition, there were no safety cars deployed to slow and bring the field together. The only sanction was for the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, who exceeded the pit lane speed limit by 2.2 km/h and was handed a five-second time penalty.
How did the hometown hero fare?
This weekend, Logan Sargeant got the opportunity to race at home in Florida, just 20 minutes from where he grew up. Earlier this year, the 22-year-old became the first American driver in F1 since 2015 and faced plenty of pressure at his home race this weekend.
The Williams Racing driver qualified in 20th but was forced to make an early unscheduled pit stop for a front wing change to his car, which meant he rejoined the track with a significant time disadvantage. He was left hoping for a safety car to help bunch up the pack, but it never arrived. As a result, he kept it clean and consistent for the remainder of the race and finished where he started. It was not the result the home crowd might have hoped for, but it was still a race that the team and Sargeant could learn from.