Max Verstappen won the Miami Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver won the International Autodrome ahead of his world championship rivals Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in Ferrari.
Mick Schumacher (Haas) had a dark day. For a long time the German was on his way to getting points, but a few laps before the end he collided with his compatriot Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and fell to the end of the field. Even Vettel could no longer intervene decisively in the race – Heppenheimer had to stop his car. “I didn’t see that!” Vettel protested on the radio. “That was clearly my turn,” Schumacher shouted.
Mick’s uncle, Ralf Schumacher, assessed the situation as “kind of a racing accident”. “Mick should give it a try there. But you can see he’s a little hesitant. Maybe he shouldn’t have done it because he could have had a curve. Braking a little later, he says. But Sebastian has to let go sometimes. He can’t disappear into thin air. Sebastian has to look in the mirror, that’s how it is. An unfavorable situation,” he said. sky.
Vettel later apologized via sky in Schumacher. “It’s stupid and bitter for both of us,” Heppenheimer said. “I’m sorry we went out together, I thought I got the curve, when I saw it it was too late.” “It’s unfortunate, very unfortunate for both of us,” Schumacher said. “I will definitely talk to him about it,” he declared.
The mood in race winner Verstappen was better. “I think I need a drink,” world champion Verstappen said on the radio after his second straight win. With this victory, the Dutchman reduced the difference against Leclerc in the World Cup to 19 points. “It was very stressful, but I am very happy with this win,” Verstappen said.
Former world champion Lewis Hamilton finished sixth at Mercedes, behind teammate George Russell.
Miami GP: Analysis
Verstappen managed to breach the Ferrari fort from the start. After the red light went out, the Dutchman came off the mark a little better than Sainz and passed the Spaniard on the outside of Turn Two, which is well worth a watch. Behind him, Sergio Perez also attacked the Ferrari driver, but the Mexican could not find his way into the past.
There shouldn’t be a long wait in the leadership battle either. After just eight laps, Leclerc informed his box that the front tires had collapsed, which Verstappen didn’t need to tell twice and pushed. In just two sessions, the Dutchman caught up with Monaco and launched his attack. With the DRS and clearly more grip, he overtook Leclerc on lap 10 at the start and finished straight and took the lead.
As it turned out, Red Bull was the fastest racing car. Verstappen gradually managed to increase the lead over Leclerc – after 15 laps, she had already accumulated more than five seconds. Behind the two, Perez also put pressure on Sainz and would likely have passed Ferrari as well. However, the Mexican had problems with the power unit for a few laps, which is why he had to pull out.
The pit stop didn’t change this picture either. All four top drivers chose the challenging elements of Mission Two and the one-stop strategy as a result. In the toughest vehicle, Red Bull looked superior even to the red car, which is why Verstappen had no problems defending his lead to the finish.
A late safety car stage – brought on by an accident between Lando Norris (McLaren) and Pierre Gasly (Alfa Tauri) – re-entered the field 15 laps before the end of the race. Perez in particular stood out as the benefactor because it gave him the chance to stop for free and the chance to attack Ferrari again.
This was not possible, because Perez made a mistake while braking on the first curve. Despite a recent attack from Leclerc, Verstappen defended his place in the sun, followed by Monegasse and teammate Sainz for second and third.
Perez behind George Russell (5th / Mercedes), Lewis Hamilton (6th / Mercedes), Valtteri Bottas (7th / Alfa Romeo), Esteban Ocon (8th / Alpine), Alexander Albon (9th / Williams) and Lance Stroll (10th / Aston Martin) completed the top ten .
After that, Alonso was given a time penalty for a crash with Gasly, which is why Vettel’s teammate Stroll slipped in points in 10th.
Miami GP: Tire Strategy
Ferrari’s strategic plan was upended a few laps later due to Verstappen’s rapid progress. In order to have a say in the victory, the Scuderia turned to “Plan D,” an overall strategy that involves changing out hard tires.
But Red Bull did not take the risk. Since Leclerc gave the starting signal from the leading group, the Austrians simply copied Scuderia’s approach and also sent their drivers Verstappen and Perez in rough shape for the second task.
As a result, little movement came into the field. Why Scuderia didn’t at least send Sainz into an alternative strategy to put at least some pressure on Verstappen can at least be questioned.
Towards the end, it was Perez who put new tires on because of the safety car. However, with the new media, the advantage on Sainz was less than expected. Perez could only lead one attack.
Racing highlight: Aston Martin Haas duels
While there was little action at the top in terms of duels, fans at the Miami International Autodrome were able to see some strong midfield duels.
Among other things, between the drivers of Haas and Aston Martin. Despite the more modern tires, the former had difficulty overtaking the green cars. Time and time again Vettel and Stroll fended off the maneuvers of the Haas drivers and had some close-knit duels between the wheels.
The most tragic thing is that in the end there was an accident between Vettel and Schumacher.
Race Top: George Russell
Saturday’s playoffs his responsibility. But in the race on Sunday, the young man showed all his abilities. With good speed and smart strategy, he went from 12th to 5th place. He remains the only driver to score points in every race so far in 2022. Powerful performance!
Race Fail: Aston Martin
The pace of the Brits during the race was not bad at all, so what happened before the start of the race was even more bitter. Due to incorrect fuel storage, both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll had to start from the pit lane. The good starting sites (P10 and P13) disappeared. Also weak: Mick Schumacher, who dumped World Cup points he thought were safe with his crash.
Formula 1: World Championship mode (after 5 races out of 23)
| place | Driver | a team | points |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 104 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | red bull | 85 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | red bull | 66 |
| 4 | George Russell | mercedes | 59 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 53 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | mercedes | 36 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 35 |
| VIII | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 30 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alps | 24 |
| 10 | Kevin Magosin | Alfa Romeo | 15th |
| place | a team | points |
| 1 | Ferrari | 157 |
| 2 | red bull | 151 |
| 3 | mercedes | 95 |
| 4 | McLaren | 46 |
| 5 | Alfa Romeo | 31 |
| 6 | Alps | 28 |
| 7 | AlphaTauri | 16 |
| VIII | Hass | 15th |
| 9 | Aston Martin | 5 |
| 10 | Williams | 2 |