If anyone could do it, it was Max. Saturday’s pole position was almost a miracle, but in Miami, Piastri and McLaren know they are superior. And in Jeddah, and in Bahrain, and in Australia… they have been all year, and it was this race in Miami where it was most evident that the papaya cars are way ahead of the rest. Verstappen had a chance at the start of the race, but…
Piastri flashes his trademark half-smile again in Miami. Contender for everything
The semi-urban Miami circuit hosted the sixth race of the current Formula 1 season. After a chaotic sprint and a qualifying session full of uncertainty, Oscar Piastri took a convincing victory ahead of his teammate Lando Norris and George Russell. Carlos Sainz, clearly behind his teammate Alex Albon, finished ninth, while Fernando Alonso was unable to move up from 15th position, with Aston Martin being the last car on the grid in terms of actual performance.
Because the other competitors, with the exception of Verstappen himself and, perhaps, at some point Mercedes drivers such as Antonelli and Russell, the fight for the World Championship is already decided. Everything indicates that Oscar Piastri and Norris will be the champions, barring disaster. Something that, at this stage of the championship, the sixth race of the year, seems unthinkable.
And not unthinkable because they could lose that advantage, but unthinkable because it seems almost impossible for the rest to catch them. The superiority of the MCL36 is such that, even with small improvements between now and the summer, it is more than likely that both Norris and Piastri will continue to have their cars at the front of the grid. And that’s knowing that we are in the last year of this regulation…
In this race, where Piastri once again flashed his trademark half-smile in Miami, the Australian was the man to beat this weekend, beating Lando Norris, who finished second after recovering from a poor start that saw him drop to sixth place.
Third place went to George Russell, who clearly benefited from the first of the two Virtual Safety Cars that came out during the race. The British Mercedes driver was one of the few drivers to pit until the virtual safety car came out, which benefited him greatly, allowing him to move up a few positions and, above all, finish fighting for the podium with Max Verstappen, who was unable to overtake him in the final stretch, allowing him to take third place.
Sainz battles with the Ferraris and finishes 9th in Miami. Alonso and Aston Martin bring up the rear
In the case of Verstappen, the Red Bull driver finished fourth after being unable to keep up with the exceptional pace and tire degradation of the McLarens and unable to overtake George Russell, who was lucky to benefit from the Virtual Safety Car. The Dutchman was fighting head-to-head with the Woking cars in the first half of the race, but the pace of the McLarens was far superior to that of his Red Bull and eventually both McLaren drivers overtook them, finishing half a minute behind the orange cars and just behind the Mercedes.
The Dutchman, who became a father on Saturday with a pole position against all odds, defended himself aggressively from Lando Norris’ attack at the start. The Briton, who scored his first F1 victory at this track a year ago, was left with no room by the four-time Red Bull champion’s maneuver and lost four positions on his ‘excursion’ off the track, dropping to sixth.
The two Williams cars of Sainz and Albon were the benchmark in the midfield, ahead of the two Ferraris and Tsunoda in the Red Bull, while Fernando Alonso, with no chance after starting at the back of the grid (17th), was unable to make any progress, blocked by Bearman and in his attempt to attack the Briton ended up spinning. Sainz, in the Williams, who even stood up to the two Ferraris by overtaking them on the track, finished the race in ninth place, battling with Hamilton until the last corner at the finish line.
The outlook was even worse for Aston Martin, with Alonso and Stroll finishing last after Lawson, Doohan, Bearman, and Bortoleto all retired in the final stages. Even Hülkenberg’s Sauber was faster than the Silverstone cars, which have hit rock bottom and desperately need updates at Imola.