John N
First winner in Miami!
👏👏👏 @Max33Verstappen #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Wudi4ssRlF
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
Max Verstappen won the first-ever Miami Grand Prix, prying the leadoff Ferrari’s pole-sitter Charles Leclerc early in the race, and defended it in an enthralling late-race battle. Red Bull’s reigning champion took P2 off Carlos Sainz into Turn 1 at the start and soon began to close in on Leclerc.
The Ferrari driver lost the lead to his rival on the main straight at the start of Lap 9 of 57 and pitted from mediums to hards on Lap 24, causing Verstappen to react with his stop two laps later. Verstappen would cruise to victory in front of Miami Gardens’ marina before cautions interrupted the race.
The Lap 41 caution triggered by a clash between Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris sent McLaren driver Norris into a spin as his right-rear tire ripped off. Perez took advantage of this opportunity by pitting for new medium tires from P4, emerging there, with hard-shod Verstappen, Leclerc, and Sainz ahead.
FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2022 – RACE RESULT
| POS | DRIVER | TIME/RETIRED | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:34:24.258 | 26 | |
| 2 | +3.786s | 18 | |
| 3 | +8.229s | 15 | |
| 4 | +10.638s | 12 | |
| 5 | +18.582s | 10 | |
| 6 | +21.368s | 8 | |
| 7 | +25.073s | 6 | |
| 8 | +28.386s | 4 | |
| 9 | +32.128s | 2 | |
| 10 | +32.365s | 1 | |
| 11 | +37.026s | 0 | |
| 12 | +40.146s | 0 | |
| 13 | +40.902s | 0 | |
| 14 | +49.936s | 0 | |
| 15 | +73.305s | 0 | |
| 16 | DNF | 0 | |
| 17 | DNF | 0 | |
| NC | DNF | 0 | |
| NC | DNF | 0 | |
| NC | DNF | 0 |
* Provisional results. Note – Verstappen scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Alonso and Magnussen received five-second-time penalties for causing collisions. Ricciardo received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
The Lap 47 restart saw Verstappen lead away but struggle to build up a gap to Leclerc. It was equally difficult for Sainz, who medium-shod Sergio Perez was hounding for the final podium place.
Perez attempted to pass Sainz on Lap 52 but locked up, both drivers avoiding contact, while Leclerc was under half a second behind Verstappen in the chase for the lead. But neither Perez nor Leclerc could make headway, and the win – narrow as it was over the Ferraris – would be Verstappen’s.
The bottom five were rounded out by George Russell, who started 11th and pitted during the VSC. He used a better strategy to pass teammate Lewis Hamilton on Lap 54. Hamilton lamented that he couldn’t pit during the VSC but was promoted to P6 when Valtteri Bottas went wide at Turn 17 on Lap 49.
The Alfa Romeo driver seemed destined for P5 having started there, but his late mistake left him seventh. The Alpines were; next, Esteban Ocon finishing eighth from Fernando Alonso in ninth – the latter having been penalized by five seconds for contact with Gasly. Alex Albon made a recovery drive to complete the top 10, beating Daniel Ricciardo to the final point.
Kevin Magnussen retired late after contact with Lance Stroll, who started in the pits and was tapped out of the race by Mick Schumacher. Gasly did not finish the race after his contact with Norris, while Zhou Guanyu was the first retiree.
Ferrari couldn’t convert their advantage to a Miami Grand Prix win, as Max Verstappen has now made it two wins in a row despite starting on the front row.
