Max Verstappen came back from ninth place to win as he overtook Sergio Perez in the race’s late stages. A strategic battle took place in Miami as the two Red Bulls were miles ahead of the rest of the grid in terms of race pace. Fernando Alonso once again claimed the last spot on the podium, whilst George Russell came in fourth, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. The Monagesque driver had a frustrating day and was got stuck battling the Haas of Magnussen, who put up a stern fight.
WHAT DID WE LEARN?
One of the most obvious getaways from the race is that Red Bull are superior once again, and Ferrari are miles off it this year compared to last season. Mercedes are improving but cannot be content with what they have, especially with Aston Martin regularly getting podium ahead of them. McLaren are still a mess; when things are not going their way, they lack downforce and top speed, both of which were key in Miami.
In the post-race interview, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz noted that the car is very unstable and unpredictable. What that means is the driver’s task to judge were the limit becomes even more difficult. Leclerc especially looked frustrated that his team are not finding ways to mitigate these issues resulting in poor race performances.
A double points finish for Alpine is good but not enough compared to where they were at the beginning of the race. In the first laps of the race, Pierre Gasly was running in fourth place, but at the race fizzed on, he moved backwards. The need to fuel save at the end of the race meant that he could not do anything against Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who both passed him easily.
UPGRADES
Next race, which will be during the 19th-21st of May in Imola, will see a lot of teams bringing upgrades. Mercedes and especially Lewis Hamilton are counting down the days to get the updates on the car but are wary of the fact that others teams will be doing the same thing. The upgrade will focus on introducing new bodywork, underfloor and front suspension, which is pretty substantial. Toto Wolff said that learning how the car reacts to the new upgrades will be critical to the ongoing development of this year’s car and next year’s. It’s a difficult stage for Mercedes, who have started to doubt the route taken in terms of development, and it’s easy to see frustration building as Wolff also commented that, “never in my 15 years in F1 have I seen a silver bullet being introduced, where suddenly you unlock half a second of performance.”
Haas will also bring a new package for the first race in Italy, but no specifics. Nico Hulkenberg stated after the race in Miami that it was a frustrating day for him, who was stuck in traffic for most of the race and commented on the fact that they pinpointed the issues that need fixing and that Haas has something in the pipeline to help them solve these problems and propel them higher in the standings.