The worst forecasts were confirmed and the 2022 Miami GP will not be remembered as the funniest race in history, although it was exciting in the last laps behind a safety car. Verstappen took advantage of Red Bull’s better pace to overtake Leclerc in the opening laps and lead until the end to take his third win of the year.
The spectators who paid high prices to enjoy F1 in Miami for the first time only came out of their lethargy when a contact between Alonso and Gasly damaged the AlphaTauri, and the Frenchman, losing positions, touched Lando Norris, who suffered an accident that led to in SafetyCar .
Red Bull then pitted Sergio Pérez, who mounted means to attack Carlos Sainz, but the Mexican failed in his overtaking attempt and the Madrid native clung to third place. Leclerc also had Verstappen within a DRS shot, but with no chance to steal the lead.
After the first two teams came the Mercedes, where Russell (started 10th after having to start the Aston Martin from the pitlane) made a good decision to start with hard and not stop until the race was neutralized. The young man finished just ahead of Hamilton , who complained about his strategy and reached the finish line sixth, as he started.
Valtteri Bottas dodged trouble to finish seventh, just ahead of the two Alpines. However, the contact with Gasly caused Fernando Alonso to receive a five-second penalty and, after seeing the checkered flag in eighth place, he lost position with Esteban Ocon but held it against and Alexander Albon (10th), and Daniel Ricciardo (11th ) to finish in the top 10.
Another investigation into Alonso for ‘leaving the track gaining an advantage’ was then announced, and the Spaniard slipped further down the standings, finishing in 11th position, just 102 thousandths of the points.
Formula 1 Miami GP 2022 Race Results
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ![]() |
57 | – | 26 | |||
| 2 | ![]() |
57 | 3.786 | 3.786 | 3.786 | 18 | |
| 3 | ![]() |
57 | 8,229 | 8,229 | 4,443 | fifteen | |
| 4 | ![]() |
57 | 10,638 | 10,638 | 2,409 | 12 | |
| 5 | ![]() |
57 | 18.582 | 18.582 | 7.944 | 10 | |
| 6 | ![]() |
57 | 21.368 | 21.368 | 2.786 | 8 | |
| 7 | ![]() |
57 | 25.073 | 25.073 | 3.705 | 6 | |
| 8 | ![]() |
57 | 28.386 | 28.386 | 3.313 | 4 | |
| 9 | ![]() |
57 | 32.128 | 32.128 | 3.742 | 2 | |
| 10 | ![]() |
57 | 32.365 | 32.365 | 0.237 | 1 | |
| see results | |||||||
Formula 1 Miami GP 2022 Race Summary
The starting grid was changed before the start of the race, when the Aston Martins suffered a fuel temperature problem and both Vettel and Stroll were forced to start from the pitlane.
At the start, Leclerc kept the lead, and Verstappen took advantage of the clean part to beat Sainz on the inside at the second corner and move behind the leader. Alonso had a great start that took him to seventh position (he started tenth), and the two Mercedes started badly, with Hamilton falling to eighth place (starting sixth) after touching precisely with Fernando and Russell in 15th.
With no accidents at the start, the race leveled off, but Alonso went wide on lap 3 and Hamilton took advantage of it to pass him. The Briton continued his advance and noticed Gasly, whom Alonso also wanted to overtake.
Beyond the Asturian and his pursuit of Gasly, the cameras focused on a Verstapppen that was getting very close to Leclerc, and that at the beginning of lap 9 managed to take the lead using the DRS. Apart from an overtake by Ricciardo on Tsunoda, the race fell into a monotony without much action.
First pit stops
The Japanese was precisely the first to stop in the pits, at the end of lap 11, to change his medium tires for the hard ones. Leclerc blocked at Turn 17 with a mistake that allowed Verstappen to get ahead but Sainz was more than three seconds behind his teammate and was unable to take advantage of it.
Alonso entered on lap 15, and came back 13th behind Ocon after a slow pitstop with rear wheel trouble. Another bad save was also suffered by Pierre Gasly, who nevertheless stayed ahead of the Spaniard.
Norris stopped on lap 19, also with a wheel change of over three and a half seconds, and rejoined right between the Aston Martins. Vettel took advantage of his cold tires to pass him, and Magnussen did the same just a few corners later. Haas’s was going very fast and
Running fourth and after having approached Sainz, Checo Pérez reported a loss of power in his engine, and started an argument with his engineer, who claimed his performance drop in having lost the slipstream. The Mexican was able to change the engine mode and return to normal, although already detached from Carlos.
On lap 23 Hamilton pitted and came out after his teammate Russell (still not stopping). Ferrari brought in Leclerc at the start of 25, and Red Bull protected themselves by stopping Verstappen one later.
After Alonso a little train was formed with Stroll, Vettel and Magnussen behind. Russell passed Bottas and was already fifth by lap 27, although without having made his pitstop and holding on hard. In lap 28, Ferrari made another disastrous stop with Sainz, 5.4 seconds, although Pérez, who had entered at the same time, could not pass him.
Stabilized race ahead, active behind
Magnussen did notice Vettel, and went for Stroll, but the German took advantage of the Canadian’s good defense to regain 12th place. However, with better pace, the two Haas overtook Vettel, and who Norris would soon attack as well.
In the first positions, Verstappen and Leclerc alternated on the fastest lap, but the excitement continued in the fight between 12th and 15th. Magnussen let a Mick Schumacher pass who seemed to have a better pace.
On lap 39, Alonso lunged from afar to attack Gasly for ninth place, but he touched the AlphaTauri rider, who also lost position to Stroll. The Spaniard alleged that his rival had “closed the door on him at the last moment”, and an investigation was announced.
Norris accident and change the Miami race
A Gasly that seemed with the car touched after Alonso’s touch began to lose positions, and Lando Norris ran into him, who ended up against the wall of the first corner. After that there was a Virtual Safety Car period (lap 41) which they took advantage of to enter Russell and Stroll, and then a real safety car (lap 42) during which Ocon, Ricciardo and Vettel entered.
Red Bull had also stopped Pérez to give him media to attack Sainz, and Russell also found himself with media just behind Hamilton.
Race management announced a five-second penalty for Alonso, and the race was neutralized until lap 47, when it resumed.
The Miami race is relaunched: Pérez, at Sainz’s attack
The Mexican tried to get third in the first corner, but the Spaniard defended himself with determination. Bottas approached both, but could not keep up with them. In fact, while Russell was trying to overtake his teammate Hamilton, Bottas made a mistake (touching the wall) and the two Mercedes overtook him.
Russell finally passed Hamilton on lap 50, just as Leclerc moved within DRS shooting range of Verstappen after better warming up the Ferrari’s tyres. Pérez dived for the inside of Sainz at the start of lap 52, but went wide and the Spaniard stayed ahead.
In the first corner, in a maneuver similar to that of Alonso and Gasly, Mick Schumacher took Vettel ahead, who completed his black Sunday with an abandonment. Race direction (previous error) announced investigation of that incident, and a last one between Magnussen and Ricciardo was also noted.













