Max Verstappen’s season has been an ups and downs of emotions. The reigning world champion started with a painful retirement when he had secured second place at the Bahrain Grand Prix , but bounced back with a masterclass in the use of DRS against what is, at least in theory, his main rival for the title, Charles Leclerc.
The Dutchman, decided to make up for himself and recover the open gap, arrived in Australia and, as happened in Sakhir, he was forced to retire because his RB18 said enough when he was going to finish second.
As if it were a movie script, the Red Bull driver won again in the next two races consecutively, fulfilling the rule that if he finishes a test, he climbs to the top of the podium in 2022.
It seems that Verstappen only knows how to add 25 to 25 (or more, if he gets the fastest lap or the victory in the sprint races, as happened in Imola), but you have to wonder about the keys that made him the first winner in history of Miami.
The car from Milton Keyne s suffered many problems during the free practice sessions, and the fact is that the Dutchman could barely do a few laps, 35 in total, so every kilometer he did was vital. The fact that this track was making its debut on the calendar made it even more difficult to set up the car, and that took its toll on the world champion’s box.
On Saturday, Verstappen managed to stand up to the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, and in the last round of qualifying he was on provisional pole after the first attempt. However, at the moment of truth, in the fast interlocking at the start of the lap, he made a mistake that left him without options after the improvement of the track and the speed of the red single-seaters, who took over the front row in what it was his first one-two finish since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix.
A day later, from third position and with his sights set on the Maranello cars, Max Verstappen seemed to have little to do after seeing the pace of his rivals in qualifying, but when the traffic lights went out one of the keys that gave the victory in Miami.
The drivers’ criticisms about the type of asphalt were repeated throughout the weekend, and as Fernando Alonso did brilliantly, the Dutchman went around the outside of the first corner, where there was more grip, although that was not what conferred advantage.
His victory, as surreal as it may seem, had been brewing since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and that is because a situation similar to that of Miami was experienced there, since the reigning champion had, if we remove Sergio Pérez from pole, to the two Ferraris in front.
The departures of the Saudi Arabian and Miami GP were similar for the Ferrari
Swipe and compare the two F1 race starts
At the start, Sainz reacted better than Leclerc, and chose to go to the right side of the Monegasque, to which he responded by closing the trajectory, so the Madrid native was unable to brake late.
The same thing happened in the United States, and in a very clever way, Verstappen went to the left of the red cars. The Dutchman hurried up the braking and managed to pass Sainz on the outside , thus managing to get in the wake of the only rival he would have later.
Already in second position everything looked a little better, and although in qualifying it was not the fastest, in race pace, Red Bull was superior, as was shown by Pérez, who was happy that without his engine problems he could have finished in the podium ahead of the Spanish.
With his speed advantage, Verstappen gradually closed the gap on Leclerc, and although Miami had two great DRS zones, the Dutchman made his masterful move in the part where this mobile element had less effect.
The DRS could also be activated on the main straight, this being the third section of the track, but there were too few meters to attempt overtaking. Thus, the one from Red Bull prepared the movement from turn 17 , where the Ferrari Monegasque made a mistake by going a little long and losing traction, something that perhaps could have come from the small negative camber of the turn.
The current leader of the championship failed again when it came to defending himself, since he did not choose either side of the track, neither the inside nor the outside. Verstappen took advantage of that, who with DRS, better traction and slipstream, got into the inner part of the track and took the lead to continue like this until the checkered flag.
Max Verstappen, with his performance in Miami, achieved his 23rd victory in the highest category of motorsports, and is equal to pilots of the stature of Nico Rosberg or Nelson Piquet, in addition to being among the ten who have stood on a Formula 1 podium the most times , a total of 63, that is, a 43.15% effectiveness.
