F1 Miami GP: Perez and Verstappen battle for championship lead

Miami inevitably will always be a show, and this weekend there was action on and off track which created a talking point between teams and drivers.

It was Max Verstappen who retaliated after Sergio Perez’ win in Azerbaijan as he won from P9 to beat his teammate to secure Red Bull’s fourth 1-2 in the fifth race of the season. After Charles Leclerc’s qualifying crash, Verstappen was unable to complete a lap which saw him start further back, but he truly proved his quality this weekend.

When you are talking about Max Verstappen these days, the word inevitable comes to mind. The two-time world champion has been scintillating since 2021, and he showed his dominance and raw ability when he beat his teammate despite starting eight places back. His stint on the hard tyre, particularly in the deeper laps of the stint were remarkable, as he was matching Perez who had fresh hards. A truly deserved win, as he really flexed his muscle over Sergio Perez.

It once again was not one of the most remarkable of races. There were 0 retirements or even a yellow flag across the entire 57 laps. However, the overtaking was certainly on for show, and it was an interesting spectacle in that sense. While there was still boredom in terms of the range of strategy. There were particularly good drives from both Mercedes drivers, who both qualified poorly.

George Russell was impressive to earn P4 in the race and showed great pace matching podium finisher Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton surpassed early traffic to finish P6 after a P13 start, including beating Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari’s were dreadful this weekend.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both vented over their Ferrari’s race pace once again, with Sainz saying that the Italian outfit are midway through a learning process. They both went backwards in the race, and Ferrari will be desperate for their Imola upgrade to work.

Alpine were desperate for a good weekend after Baku, and most crucially, Laurent Rossi’s comments to the media which must have made team principle Otmar Szafnauer sweat a little. Rossi, Alpine’s CEO was extremely honest about the poor start, but the double points finish for the French pair will relieve the team.

Kevin Magnussen was superb this weekend at Haas’ home race, including an albeit slightly fortunate P4 finish in qualifying. The Danish driver drove excellently against Leclerc for most of the race, and fully deserved P10.

It was another disaster weekend for McLaren, who must have been sure after their improvement in Azerbaijan that things were looking back to normal, but it was another disaster as Norris and Piastri finished P17 and P19. What must Lando Norris be thinking?

The fans and drivers certainly had a few words to say about the pre-race driver introductions, which were a slight bit over theatrical for some of the viewers. A slight statement on how the sport has evolved in the last few years.

The European season is officially back, and the Imola grand prix will see a vast number of big upgrades which will see a change in order. Mercedes’ Imola upgrade has been hyped up for weeks now, so can they close the gap at all to Red Bull?