The only question at Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix wasn’t, as usual, whether Red Bull would win the race.it was which A Red Bull driver would win the race.
Sergio Perez started from pole position and led for a while. Then Max Verstappen. Then again Perez. And finally Verstappen. This has become routine these days, as regular Formula 1 watchers say.
Who is this week’s winner? Verstappen overtook Perez after a late pit stop and picked up speed to take his third win of the season. (Perez has two others; Red Bull is unbeaten in five races this year.)
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was third. Formula 1 is best in class in many ways. Amazing people don’t seem to be among them anymore.
Verstappen’s victory was a satisfying win after falling far back on the starting grid in a rare qualifying session and will continue after Sunday as he was able to extend his lead over Perez in the season points race. prize. That edge, which has shrunk to 6 points, is now a more comfortable 14.
But the win also re-established Verstappen as the best driver for one of F1’s best teams, and was the betting favorite to win the next hour, the next hour, and the hour after that.
Verstappen said before the race that he had “tormented himself”, hinting at a rare error in qualifying that saw him start ninth on a 20-driver grid. I am going to spend the day.”
he was right But for Red Bull, all are good days this year.
race turn
20 to 40 laps. Perez got off to a fast start and led for about 20 laps before pitting and putting on the same hard tires as Verstappen. But as soon as Perez gave up the lead, Verstappen sprinted away. At one point he was extending his nearly 20 second lead over the rest of the field.
Of course, Verstappen also had to pit. However, his lead had grown so great by then that when he came out of the pit lane on his 46th lap of 57, he came out of the pit lane with new tires and a clear line for Perez. . “Hard Rock Stadium. It took less than two laps for Verstappen to sprint around his teammate.
“Well done, Max,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said over the radio shortly after Verstappen crossed the finish line. “It was a strong intermediate stint.”
Race in pictures
best day ranking
1. Red Bull. Invariably, Verstappen goes to bed slightly happier than Perez.
2. Fernando Alonso. Have you ever seen someone happy to finish third most of the time?
3. Mercedes. George Russell was fourth and Lewis Hamilton, who started 13th, was sixth. Mercedes continues to improve, with Russell and Hamilton complaining on the radio from time to time on Sunday. ” he yelled at reporters — Sunday was a good day.
Red Bull results this season:
Bahrain: Verstappen P1, Perez P2
Saudi Arabia: Perez P1, Verstappen P2
Australia: Verstappen P1, Perez P5
Azerbaijan: Perez P1, Verstappen P2
Miami: Verstappen P1, Perez P2
Drivers’ Championship standings
Red Bull’s only competition at this point is against itself.
