VERSTAPPEN HOLDS HIS NERVE AS RED BULL CHARGE CONTINUES
It really couldn’t have ended any other way. The top three finishers in Formula 1’s first Miami Grand Prix wore Pirelli-branded NFL helmets atop the gigantic podium, the Miami Dolphins’ aqua-coloured-structure dwarfed by the vastness of the Hard Rock Stadium behind it.
Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc had gone wheel to wheel yet again. The Red Bull driver emerged victorious in a race that was re-enlivened only by a late-race safety car following a dramatic crash in the pack, while Ferrari’s challenge was lost for the second event in a row with struggles on softer Pirelli tyres.
In qualifying, however, Ferrari had got the softs up to temperature nicely on the slippery track surface, and Leclerc had been able to keep them in the performance window best to aid his run to a third pole of the season so far (see panel, p27). When the lights went out in the race, he made the perfect launch to steam towards Turn 1 in the lead. And that’s pretty much as good as it got for Ferrari last Sunday.
From alongside Leclerc on the front row, Carlos Sainz reacted at the same moment as his team-mate, but lost a few car lengths because he was forced to start away from the gripped-up racing line. But Sainz still accelerated well enough, it’s just that Verstappen, who had gained off the line but not enough to be properly alongside as they braked for the first corner, was about to take a gamble that paid off big time.
Heading into the race, the drivers had been concerned about having to take a variety of lines into the first corner, following their complaints about the state of the track off-line across the weekend.
