It was a weekend which delivered on some of the promises, as this was more than just a race, it was an event. It wasn’t just a circuit in a car park either, the facility looked superb, apart from perhaps the fake harbour. The race itself didn’t quite live up to the hype, despite the chaos to end the race, but it was a great first attempt.
Red Bull are becoming an ominous threat for Ferrari, with it looking as though it will be a question of when not if Max takes the championship lead. They were close together on one lap pace for qualifying, with a small mistake costing Verstappen a chance at pole. In the race though, their tyre wear was miles better than the Ferrari, with him crawling over the back of Charles after only a few laps. The late Safety Car put him under pressure, and suggested that on pure pace they weren’t that far ahead, but he got through it, and got another win, to close on Leclerc as we go to Europe. Perez was unlucky to have another reliability issue, which does spark concerns for the future, especially after Max’s FP2 disaster. Without the issue, he probably would have passed Sainz, maybe even before the Safety Car. His dive on Sainz nearly went very wrong.
Once again, Ferrari have been blown away when it comes to the race. There is clearly some issue that is causing them to shred their tyres. Leclerc could do nothing to hold Max back, and did very well to nearly pass him again after the Safety Car. It was a day where he just needed to get points. Sainz was boxed behind his teammate at the start, which allowed Verstappen to pass him around the outside, from there on his pace was again some way off Leclerc, but right now he just needs to score points. His defence of a podium was brilliant too. These upgrades for Spain had better put them back in the fight with Red Bull.
It may not have been the heroics of Friday practice, but this result is surely a relief for Mercedes after the turmoil of Imola, although Russell did finish well there too. They still have a long way to go though, the good news for the team is that they managed to find the window for the car on Friday, they just need to understand how to unlock it every race. Hamilton was not able to make an impression on Bottas for most of the race, and in fact needed a mistake to pass him. His pace was solid though, and a boost after Imola. Russell had a great race, despite falling back early on. The overcut allowed him to jump to 7th when the Safety Car came out, and fly on the new tyres to get another top 5 result. If Mercedes fix their car, he could be a true title threat.
Bottas is a machine right now, just punching out results every weekend. Without the Safety Car, he may well have got 5th, as he looks to be in the form of his life right now. Ocon was another like Hamilton to turn his fortune around since Imola, the Alpine has shown promise all year long, but luck has not been on their side. Albon may well be one of my drivers of the season so far, as he gets another few points for Williams, showing the car has pace for the points.
Stroll was in the middle of the mid-field chaos, but survived it to bag a point, as they try and stay off the bottom of the standings. Alonso was in the points on track, but lost it through a penalty for hitting Gasly. The penalty was deserved, as he was barely alongside when they hit, so it wasn’t his corner. Tsunoda just struggled for pace this weekend compared to his teammate. Ricciardo had a difficult race, not able to improve really from where he started, and a late pitstop further hurt that.
It was looking so good for Schumacher, sitting in the points after the Safety Car, and the Haas looked to have real pace, but with the newer tyres, the cars behind pounced, and he defended too hard on Vettel, ruining both their races. Magnussen was with Mick for most of the race, but retired late on. Vettel was on course for points after starting in 13th, with the Aston Martin continuing to look better than it was, but it wasn’t to be in the end. It was a rather weird crash between Norris and Gasly, who was ailing after the collision with Alonso. In a tight part of the track, Norris followed the curve of the track, but Gasly didn’t, leading to a crash which was a bit scary. McLaren were struggling for points anyway.
Miami can be proud of their first F1 race, it brought in the crowds, and definitely helped to put F1 on the map in America. The track probably does need to be altered for next year, but not much, only really that horrible chicane at the end of the second sector. For me, the definition of this race’s success was not the first year, it is the subsequent years after that, and if they can maintain the hype and growth around the event. That will really show if F1 has broken into the American market!
-M
Meaning of Motorsport 