
The Miami International Autodrome, situated half on the street and half purpose-built, divides F1 fans and critics alike on the actual quality of the race. The track itself is a sight to behold, built around the Miami Dolphins NFL stadium. It can deceive with its amazing views and flashy looks. The track became the host for the Miami GP last year (2022) and had an uneventful race. Or so we thought, as it had the fourth most overtakes in a race last year, but the TV direction failed to engage viewers. The only talking point from last year that anybody can remember is the fake marina with no water.
This year the track promised us good racing, as they shortened the DRS zones and used tyre compounds that were bound to give us some on-track battles. The only thing that was certain was the marina was to be filled with actual water instead of blue floor paint.
Red Bull looked strong this weekend, with the hopes of Sergio Perez who might find this track a little similar to a street track and challenge Max head-on for once. The Qualifying gave hope to the fans as Charles crashed in Q3 and brought out the red flag, and Checo (Sergio Perez) got the pole position with Alonso and Sainz behind him. The Mexican started out strong without anyone challenging him until Max caught up to him, and Perez pitted from Mediums tyres to Hards. Max came home to finish on the top step with his teammate Perez just behind him in P2
During the start, we saw Charles and Kevin fighting, and we never thought we would see this, but fans were shocked to see Haas challenging Ferrari. But Kevin was fighting and keeping up with Ferrari. While Carlos Sainz had a lonely race, apart from a few back and forth with Fernando Alonso, until he settled in 5th.
Speaking of Fernando Alonso, starting 2nd and finishing 3rd was the best result Aston Martin could hope for, and the 2-time world champion delivered on that with style. His teammate, on the other hand, had a backmarker style race as he started 18th and finished 12th. With the pace Aston Martin showed this weekend, it was astonishing to see how Lance performed, and the only time he was mentioned in the entire race, as he was having a snooze fest, was when Alonso mentioned that he did a good overtake, but it didn’t matter as it was for 13th, while Alonso was keeping Russell at bay.
Mercedes are no strangers to being in the mid-pack nowadays, but this was a good showing for both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Lewis started at the back as he was knocked out in Q3. Russell, on the other hand, showed pace for the German outfit that gave the fans a little hope. This might be a good opportunity for Lewis to show off as he might be able to climb the ladder, and moving up he did, started 13th and finished 6th just behind Sainz. His teammate finished 5th, making this a good chunk of points for the Silver Arrows.
Haas had a great showing in the race from Kevin Magnussen’s side of the garage. Qualified 4th and finished 10th with a great battle with Charles and keeping up with the Ferrari for the most part. The same cannot be said for his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, the German showed no pace in the race and did not come close to Kevin. Nico started 12th and finished 15th and did not bother the cars ahead of him.
Alfa Romeo with Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas finished 16th and 13th respectively. Alfa Romeo showed no pace the entire weekend and had a very quiet and off-camera race. There’s nothing to be said regarding the departing outfit as they are nowhere near their performance levels this time last year.
Williams has the only American driver on the grid in Logan Sargent, and as a Miami native, he might have hoped for a better showing. He qualified last and finished last with 1 lap down. His teammate Alex Albon did better in qualifying, just shy of Q3 in 11th but dropped to 14th as the checkered flag fell.
AlphaTauri had a better outing as Yuki Tsunoda started 17th and finished 11th. Yuki has found himself in 11th a lot this season but is just always short of cracking the top 10. He has transformed himself into a good team leader position, but the same cannot be said for his rookie partner Nyck de Vries. Nyck was again very crash-happy this weekend, and comparisons have started between him and Latifi. He has the racing pedigree as he is a former F2 champion and Formula-E champion but hasn’t found his footing in the Red Bull environment.
Alpine, with the two French drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, had a qualifying result of 5th and 8th respectively. This is very impressive when we consider how the top 4 teams (Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari) have taken a monopoly in the first 8 spots on the grid. With the result of 8th and 9th for Gasly and Ocon, it’s safe to say that Alpine has solidified itself as the best of the rest.
Once considered the best of the rest themselves, McLaren had a very poor showing this weekend. They were off the pace from the start and essentially the backmarkers of this race. The reasons for their lack of pace are not clear, and the drivers had nothing to offer in this regard as well. This was a weekend to forget for Lando and Piastri. They started 16th and 19th and finished 17th and 19th respectively. The team is desperate to get out of this situation, and so are their fans.
This weekend was perceived as bad by some and average by others. It’s up to you to decide how much you liked this race and how you would rate it. The Championship will be on hold for a week, and we move to Monaco for our next outing.
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