Catching up as a show of power: Verstappen plays high stakes and races to victory

Catching up as proof of power
Verstappen plays high poker and races to victory

Max Verstappen is the name of the winner of the Formula 1 spectacle in Miami. The world champion plows through the field from ninth place on the grid and wins the duel with his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. The strong old master Fernando Alonso ends up in third place.

Slipped, booed – and then got up: Max Verstappen wiped away all doubts with a show of force in Miami and, after a grandiose race to catch up, is still at the top of the world championship rankings. The world champion relegated his Red Bull rival Sergio Perez to second place, plowing through the field from ninth on the grid. According to Sky, the last time the legend Niki Lauda was able to do this was in Dijon in 1984. With his magnificent race, Verstappen in Florida also silenced tens of thousands of Mexican fans who had greeted him with boos and whistles.

“It was a good, clean race. I grabbed one after the other. Then there was this little duel with Checo at the end, but we managed it cleanly,” said Verstappen. Perez presented himself as a fair sportsman: “Max was in a really good mood, he deserved the win.” Verstappen passed ten laps before the end, it was a moment that could have a decisive effect on the title fight. After his victory in Baku a week ago, Perez, always a second man at Red Bull, had hope and even reached for the championship lead in Miami. Verstappen finally screwed up qualifying with a brake and started far behind – but he is now leaving the USA with a 14-point lead over Perez.

Hulkenberg gets nothing

Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin once again secured third place, but the old master had nothing to do with the decision, it was another Red Bull show: Alonso was more than 20 seconds behind in the end. Nico Hülkenberg missed out on the points in 15th place in the Haas, he had made a mistake on the brakes in qualifying on the slippery track. Verstappen had also made such a mistake at the wrong time. The result was ninth place on the grid, so on Saturday evening everything spoke for Perez. And before the start, the Dutchman was also given a fairly clear indication of how the sympathies were distributed in Miami. The organizers of the US race added an unusual show element to the race, each driver was called out onto the track individually – Perez accompanied by chants, Verstappen accompanied by loud boos.

Conditions like in an away game for this race to catch up, but Verstappen approached them unperturbed. At the start, Perez effortlessly defended his lead in front of Alonso and Sainz, while his team-mate got to work further behind. After four laps he had already worked his way up from ninth to sixth place, also thanks to a spectacular double maneuver against Charles Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen in the Haas. In the tenth lap, Verstappen was already fourth, which was a little faster than expected. Perez, on the other hand, was slower than expected: at the front he held a lead of almost two seconds over Alonso, but did not drive away. Only when Verstappen was in the top four did the Mexican pick up the pace a bit.

Fresh tires make everything clear for Verstappen

The tire situation now became important: Verstappen started with the most durable but not the fastest tires and was able to stay out longer, Perez had put on the medium tires, which were now noticeably wearing down. A risky poker game by the Dutchman. On lap 15, Verstappen moved up to second, was just four seconds behind team rivals and was closing in quickly – on lap 21 Perez then got the hard tires and fell back for the time being. The game now supposedly began again, under the opposite sign: Perez accelerated with new tires – but he did not make up any time on Verstappen. After his pit stop, the Mexican narrowly overtook him, but the world champion had no trouble taking the lead again with fresh tyres.

270,000 spectators on the three Grand Prix days and a density of celebrities like never before made Miami a spectacle again. Even before the race started, Formula 1 proved why it now fascinates the masses in the USA. LL Cool J introduced the drivers to the new anthem of the motorsport premier class – an entry of the horsepower gladiators. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla boss and Elon Musk followed the event from the pit lane on Saturday. Actor stars like Michelle Rodríguez or Vin Diesel, sports giants like tennis legend Roger Feder, ex-ski racer Lindsey Vonn and football idol Patrick Mahomes – the number of superstars would have been enough for two races.

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