Motorsport News

Max Verstappen Makes It Look Easy In Miami

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 08: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at the Miami International Autodrome on May 08, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

Ferrari started one-two on the grid for the first time since the Mexican Grand Prix in 2019 but were not enough to hold off Max Verstappen, who took the win at the first Miami Grand Prix. Verstappen earned his third victory of the year and 23rd of his career as he closed the gap to Charles Leclerc to 19 points (104–85).

Leclerc, who started on the pole could not keep the better-suited Red Bull behind and settled for second with his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz taking third. The double-podium for Ferrari helped the team maintain its lead in the constructorʻs championship 157–151 over Red Bull.

Sergio Perez suffered a sensor issue that robbed him of roughly 17 HP but still managed to finish in fourth. George Russell started 11th and stayed on track long enough after starting on hard tyres to benefit from the safety car late in the race to pit and keep his track position. He finished fifth with his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton ending where he started in sixth.

Valtteri Bottas started the day in fifth and looked like he would finish there but he slipped up with a few laps left and allowed the two Mercedes drivers to pass, relegating him to seventh.  Esteban Ocon scored a surprising eighth-place finish after starting from the back.

Alexander Albon scored his first points for Williams with his ninth-place finish.  Lance Stroll benefitted from attrition in front of him and helped Aston Martin gain valuable points on the day.

The Race

Leclerc got a strong start and looked like he would be in a position to manage the race. By lap 9, his tyres had begun to fall away enough to give Verstappen all he needed to overtake the leader and showcase how strong this yearʻs Red Bull is. Leclerc looked like he could never find enough pace to challenge Verstappen and the Dutch driver seemed to be on his way to cruising to the checkered flag.

Then Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris created excitement on lap 41 with a collision between the two that ended Norrisʻ day and…

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