TOPS
He had already tried it in Jeddah. Starting 15th, Max Verstappen had failed in second place in Saudi Arabia earlier in the season. This time, he started 9th in Miami and the deal turned out to be a bit easier. The Dutchman built his success, the 38th in his career and the 3rd this season, before the race by opting for the hard at the start while the first seven had chosen the mediums. A paid choice. On lap 4, the Batavian was sixth then fourth on lap 9 and second on lap 15. The double world champion had recovered the lead on lap 21 before losing it on lap 45 for his stoppage. Behind, he made short work of Sergio Perez with his new tires to go to victory. A success that allows him to increase his lead to 14 points in the world championship over the Mexican. A demonstration.
Max Verstappen is not the only one to have made a great comeback in Florida. Starting 13th, Lewis Hamilton took a good sixth place in Miami. The Briton suffered during his first (long) stint with the hard guys but he picked up the pace with the mediums at the end of the race. This allowed him to overtake Ocon and Leclerc. A good overall result for Mercedes too as George Russell took fourth place.
Relief for the Blues. Australia and Azerbaijan, no points scored, had left their mark on Alpine but Miami will do some good. Fifth on the grid, Pierre Gasly had to save fuel at the end of the race which cost him positions. Eighth at the finish, Gasly was still satisfied. Just like Esteban Ocon, solid ninth in Florida. Six scored here while the French brand had only scored eight in the first four races.
Fourth podium in five races for Fernando Alonso. Author of a solid and solo race, far from the Red Bulls and far ahead of the Ferraris and the Mercedes, the Spaniard validated an excellent weekend with this fine third place. Fifteen important points for Aston Martin which remains the second force on the board.
FLOPS
A fifth place for Carlos Sainz and a seventh place for Charles Leclerc. Ferrari’s Sunday was again mixed. Third on the grid, the Spanish driver, penalized five seconds for speeding in the pits, was unable to keep pace with Fernando Alonso and George Russell on hard rubber. Really not reassuring. Regarding the Monegasque, who made a mistake twice this weekend, the tone was even more serious. Leclerc had absolutely no rhythm on the mediums at the start of the race before existing more on the hard ones but the Scuderia driver is worried and we understand that.
We thought we had found the orange cars. Oscar Piastri had taken a good eighth place in Melbourne and Lando Norris had also started his season in Australia (6th) before confirming in Baku (9th) but McLaren relapsed in Miami. British cars absolutely did not exist in Florida. They were the only ones to have opted for soft tires at the start. Far from a winning choice. On arrival, the results are heavy with a 17th place for Norris and 19th for Piastri.
