Max Verstappen wins the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.

Reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, claims his second victory for Red Bull Racing this year. 

The first-ever installment of Miami’s Grand Prix saw hundreds of thousands of fans, sponsors, and teams flock to the International Autodrome at Hard Rock Stadium.

Dominance for Verstappen, Red Bull.

After their 1-2 finish in Imola two weekends ago, Red Bull Racing looked eager to replicate the success in the 2022 Miami Grand Prix. Starting in third, Max Verstappen made a quick overtake into turn one and then was able to pass Leclerc eight laps later. From then onwards, it was smooth sailing for the dutchman.

Teammate Sergio Perez finished fourth, with a few duels against Carlos Sainz spread throughout. A late attempt gets close to an overtake, but the Mexican got his lunge wrong.  Altogether, Red Bull will be happy with this result, as the drivers and world championship leads of Ferrari continue to dwindle.

Miami Race Win ✅ Fastest Lap ✅ #DriveroftheDay ✅ @Max33Verstappen pic.twitter.com/iTc7FDbMeU

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 8, 2022

Ferrari rounds out the podium.

Despite starting in first and second, both Sainz and Leclerc were unable to match Verstappen’s pace early on. A late safety car allowed them to close the gap, but the Scuderia would have to settle for second and third. With a week break until the team travels to Barcelona, Ferrari will be looking to devise a solid plan to crush Red Bulls’ momentum. 

Mercedes 5-6, Bottas finishes 7th. 

Last year’s constructor’s winners got off to a shaky start, but it appears the Brackley team has found their groove. With new adjustments to their W13 car and some solid driving, Mercedes AMG was able to snatch up 5th and 6th place, meanwhile cementing their hold on 3rd in the constructors’ standings.

While they don’t look up to the task of challenging Red Bull or Ferrari, you can feel some improvement from the Silver Arrows.

https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/1523443207475908609?s=20&t=c4gX9fVDgRwLBY85f6DMPA

Alpine loses out on key points. 

Esteban Ocon continues to be a shining light for F1’s French team, as he climbed from P20 to P8 to secure four more critical points for Alpine. Fernando Alonso finished in P9 despite a mid-race five-second penalty for his collision with Pierre Gasly. His drive from P11 was relatively solid but nothing out of the ordinary, and Alpine seemed to be happy with double points. However, an additional five-second penalty was given to the Spaniard after going off at turn 14, causing him to drop to 11th place. In their midfield constructor’s battle, those two points could be critical for Alpine.

The Rest of the Group. 

AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda finished p12 and Pierre Gasly did not finish the race after suffering a late tire puncture. Yuki just couldn’t get things going this weekend, and Pierre suffered a variety of incidents over Sunday’s race, which caused him to fall out of the competition.

https://twitter.com/AlphaTauriF1/status/1523434055303323656?s=20&t=c4gX9fVDgRwLBY85f6DMPA

McLaren had another shaky Sunday with Lando Norris DNFing and Daniel Ricciardo finishing in 11th. After Norris podiumed in Emilia-Romagna, things were looking up for the Woking team.  While some of the practice sessions looked good, the papaya orange car team just couldn’t find a groove in Miami. The McLaren package isn’t great, but Daniel Ricciardo just doesn’t look himself. Norris’ showing today just seemed out of place.

Williams was able to scrape out another two points after a poor qualifying session on Saturday that saw the drivers start in 18th and 19th respectively. Alex Albon drove great in all free practice sessions this weekend and is maximizing everything out of that FW44. Latifi, on the other hand, looks to be still struggling and one has to wonder about his future if results don’t improve.

Aston Martin had a rough result this weekend with Stroll finishing p10 and Vettel suffering a late DNF. The team suffered a mechanical problem and was forced to start from the pitlane. After the duo’s late accidents

Round six in Barcelona.

The drivers return to the circuit in two weeks for round six of the 2022 F1 season. Lewis Hamilton drove to victory in Barcelona in 2021, and 2022’s race should provide even more great storylines.