Drivers’ championship standings after the Miami GP
- 1) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 104 points
- 2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 85
- 3) Sergio Perez, Red Bull, 66
- 4) George Russell, Mercedes, 59
- 5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 53
- 6 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 36
- 7)Lando Norris, McLaren, 35
- 8) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 30
- 9) Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 24
- 10) Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 15
- 11) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, 11
- 12) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 10
- 13) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, 6
- 14=) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, 4
- 14=) Fernando Alonso Alpine, 4
- 16)Alex Albon, Williams, 2
- 17=) Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo, 1
- 17=) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 1
- 18=) Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin 0
- 18=) Nicholas Latifi, Williams, 0
- 18=) Mick Schumacher, Haas, 0
Updated
Here’s Giles Richards’ report from Miami.
On a dais above a statue of Miami Dolphins legend Dan Marino, the drivers receive the plaudits and get to spray the champagne, as Dan Marino himself presents the trophy to Max Verstappen.
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE FIRST EVER MIAMI GP! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/iOd8Trp2SS
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) May 8, 2022
To get to the podium within the stadium, the drivers are given a police escort by CHIPs-style motorbikes.
CLASSIFICATION (LAP 57/57)
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
Brilliant comeback from Verstappen after a tough start to his weekend 👏#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/NJjGSWVdXN
The post-race interviews were carried out by the brilliant Willy T Ribbs. Catch the videos if you can, as he called Charles Leclerc “Chuck” and namedropped Muhammad Ali when chatting to Max Verstappen.
MAX: “I’m incredibly happy with winning here in Miami. It was an incredible Sunday for us”#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/e5BDHsirnW
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
CHARLES: "It was a very difficult race physically. Towards the end I thought I could get Max at one point, but today they had the advantage in terms of pace. But, it was fun, great to see so many people again!" #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/aMNLW30gKj
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
CARLOS: “We managed to keep the podium so it’s a decent result. It wasn’t easy at all. It was a tough race” #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/rkWZ7wmHsD
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
The top ten at the Miami GP
- 1) Verstappen
- 2) Leclerc
- 3) Sainz
- 4) Perez
- 5) Russell
- 6) Hamilton
- 7) Bottas
- 8) Alonso
- 9) Ocon
- 10) Albon
Updated
From the winning team’s radio
Red Bull garage: “And the race win, what a recovery, P1.”
Max Verstappen: “Yes. What a race, that was nice. Tough one, but really good.”
Christian Horner: “Well done mate, you really made that work. Well done for hanging on and we got fastest lap as well.”
Max Verstappen: “Outstanding job, a good recovery so we can be proud of that.”
That was tough going, and a tough watch at times, with not much doing up front after the initial stages and after the safety car. Behind, there was a lot of action, some real tetchy stuff, and a few close shaves, a couple of prangs. That fraternal relationship between Mick Schumacher and Seb Vettel may be at an end after that late crash.
The socials are in
VERSTAPPEN WINS IN MIAMI!👏👏👏
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
Leclerc takes second, Sainz finishes third #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/LSXKJD8U3g
MAXXX ROCKS MIAMIIII!! 🏆 Victory in the first-ever #MiamiGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/uJSzmdqMPy
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 8, 2022
Updated
Max Verstappen wins the Miami Grand Prix!
57/57 Verstappen closes in on his win, and beyond that post-safety car tussle, his Red Bull car has been all too strong for the Ferrari of Leclerc. Sainz in the Ferrari is third to complete the podium. Perez in fourth, with the Mercs of Russell and Hamilton in fifth and sixth.
Updated
56/57 Verstappen has the fastest lap, and that means an extra point. No means by which Leclerc can capture that point back beyond a lunatic last lap.
55/57 Verstappen has opened up a gap of 1.3 seconds on Leclerc, as Sainz and Perez seems to have cooled a little too.
54/57 Russell lets Hamilton back in front of him after that non-yielding overtake before. Team orders and all that. Russell goes past Hamilton again, so that’s team orders out the window almost immediately. At the back, Schumacher and Vettel clash, and poor Mick will not be collecting any points. He’s down in 15th and the two Germans are arguing.
53/57 This is close at the front, and any mistake now would surely decide the outcome. Leclerc is struggling to keep pace, and behind them the same is true of Perez and Sainz.
52/57 Leclerc and Verstappen go at it once more. Getting closer? Verstappen is flying down the straights.
51/57 Leclerc continues to chase down Verstappen, who is better round the bends even if the Red Bull has the better on the straight. Red Bull’s Perez attacks Sainz, but gets his lunge wrong. As you were.
50/57 Leclerc fancies this, he’s looking for a gap and the DRS. Perez doing the same to Sainz. Russell overtakes Hamilton and goes into fifth. Could be a question over how he managed that.
49/57 Russell all down the back of Hamilton, as they both go past Bottas. But it’s Leclerc up at the front, and he’s chasing down Verstappen. Real racing now.
48/57 The battle is on between Sainz and Perez, but up ahead Leclerc and Verstappen is back on. These two seem destined to be close to each other all season, with the Red Bull having too much pace. No chance for DRS. Sainz goes wide, and Perez attempts to get through the door. But not this time.
47/57 Back and racing. Verstappen gets a jump on Leclerc as Perez chases Sainz. Is there a yellow flag on the play? Russell is right up the rear of Hamilton. Mick Schumacher into ninth, and will he get those first ever points?
46/57 The fans in the stands look a bit perplexed by this safety car malarkey, it’s not the racing they came to see. The drivers try to warm up their tyres as the safety car sets off to the side, and off they go again.
45/57 Two more laps of safety car fun, we are told. It looks like Gasly was on the radio when Norris ploughed into the back of him.
Phil’s back in touch: “My timing was impeccable wasn’t it?. I’d love to see Hamilton mixing it with Verstappen & Leclerc. It surprises me that it has taken Mercedes so long to sort it.”
44/57 Still a lot of debris on the track as Lando Norris trudges back to the garage. The safety car leads the pack slowly around the track. That Norris crash could have been a lot worse, and was spectacular in itself.
Tim Stappard: “Phil is correct. Glamorous setting. Rich people. Boring race. Doubt they care.”
43/57 Hamilton didn’t actually change on to those tyres, and is told to stay out. “i’ll lose this position to George,” he says.
On the subject of which, David Griffin: “Russell a total driver for me. Hamilton showing he’s good but George on another level.”
Some claim. One of them’s Lewis Hamilton.
42/57 Hamilton is coming in while the safety car is out, and on soft tyres. Perez goes in, and retains fourth ahead of Bottas. Perez will be on medium tyres, the leading three on hard tyres.
Tom Stratford gets back in touch: “Can you ask Phil to wish for Hamilton to get a decent car next please, John?”
Updated
41/57 Famous last words from Phil as Lando Norris comes a cropper, and there is a safety car. Norris smashed into a retreating Gasly and we have a safety car. That means Russell, among others, gets a cheap pit.
Updated
40/57 Phil gets in touch, and he makes a good point: “What a boring race. Back to the worst of the procession days. All the commentators can say is “it’s an interesting race”. Crowd aren’t on their feet either. It needs a heavy downpour or a crash to get any excitement at all.”
39/57 Russell is coming in soon, the Merc plan that he will come back out behind Hamilton, calculations being done against Ocon. Alonso and Gasly have a near-prang over ninth and 11th, Alonso looks to have cut across. One for the stewards. Gasly drops to 11th, and Alonso up to ninth, with Stroll in 10th.
38/57 Verstappen has the fastest lap now, worth an extra point, of course. He keeps away from the wall as Christian Horner looks to the skies, and perhaps there’s some fear of rain.
37/57 Daniel Ricciardo is back in 17th now. His brief flurry did not last long. George Russell is in fifth and looking good, his team looking to give him a chance for a quick pit.
36/57 Rain coming in? Eight minutes away, says the man on the radio. Rain is not light in Miami. Here comes the random factor. It’s been far more routine GP than we we expected.
35/57 Verstappen imperious, the two Ferraris trailing behind him. Leclerc has the fastest lap but is still those 7/5 seconds behind.
34/57 Anne Williams gets in touch: “I remember back in the day when Lewis left McLaren it was because he had a dud car, he was complaining that he was driving his socks off in it.”
33/57 Hamilton is in seventh and George Russell is in fifth. Team orders in the offing? Mick Schumacher wants to overtake teammate Kevin Magnussen, the Haas drivers making their way up the field.
32/57 Verstappen’s lead over Leclerc is 7.5 seconds, and those two look the likely 1-2 come the end of the race. The action is down the back as Mick Schumacher, Vettel, Norris do battle around the 13th position.
31/57 Edwin gets in touch: “I know I may be biased, but it pains me to see Hamilton in a car, he can’t compete with.” Yes, it does feel very strange.
30/57 Verstappen is now the fastest lap. Red Bull supremo Christian Horner says Sergio Perez’s car has a sensor problem leading him to lose power.
29/57 Leclerc has set the fastest lap but is still a long way back. Hamilton is complaining about his tyres overheating. He liked to complain when he won everything, so while his Merc is off-key, expect plenty of whinges.
28/57 Sainz’s tyre change was slow, a problem with the wheel nut. It’s the heat, see. Verstappen leads, Leclerc is flying but 7.5 seconds behind.
27/57 Verstappen comes out in second, ahead of Perez. Sainz leads but still has to pit. Leclerc is showing the fastest times around the middle section, and in comes Sainz to change his tyres, having led for barely a lap. Perez comes in, too.
26/57 So it’s Sainz in second chasing down Verstappen for first, and Leclerc chasing down Perez. Red Bull will not be pitting this lap....oh, no, they are going to the hard tyres. 2.4 seconds of a change.
25/57 Leclerc has just set the fastest lap, though says it “it so difficult to drive”. He comes in for a pit, and he comes out in fourth after what wasn’t the quickest pit you will ever see. What will Red Bull do now?
24/57 Hugh Molloy gets in touch: “DRS given to the car behind is artificial and unfair. Why not give everyone, let’s say, 200 seconds of DRS for the race to use (in the zones only for safety). They can then use it tactically to attack, defend, put a fast out lap in, etc. Also, give an extra 30 seconds of DRS for each pit stop encourage more stops. Have a Street Fighter style power bar for each driver and when it’s gone, it’s gone.
“This will result in lots of cars on different strategies and different speed potentials, or overtaking.”
23/57 Hamilton goes into the pits, and tyres are changed very quickly as he thunders out - but not too fast. He comes out into seventh, ahead of Ricciardo who is having a good race.
22/57 It’s very bunched everywhere that Verstappen is not. His lead is 4.5 or so over Leclerc.
FASTEST SECTORS
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
Red Bull are bossing the final two sectors 👀#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/wUwKEEXdXm
21/57 Perez’s car has been fixed remotely, turned off and on again? Verstappen has no such problems, setting the fastest lap time. Red Bull worries but they are OK for the moment.
20/57 “I’m losing power,” says Perez. “I’m losing four seconds,” he tells his Red Bull team. They seem dumbfounded. Bottas is closing in on him into fourth.
19/57 Lando Norris, in the McLaren; drops to 15th after coming out of the pits and is overtaken by Magnussen.
18/57 Perez is chasing down Sainz, and DRS may soon be coming into play. No sign of the safety car yet. Russell in the Merc, and on harder tyres, is speeding quicker than teammate Hamilton.
17/57 Back in the pits, Alonso drops back to 12th after Alpine make a mess of his tyre change. He’s not amused.
16/57 Verstappen has around 3.5 seconds on Leclerc and he’s streaking away at the moment. Back in the pack, Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi, two Canadians, battle for 14th and 15th, which is where much of the action is at the moment.
15/57 Leclerc sets his own fastest lap, just 100th of second slower than Verstappen’s fastest overall lap. Beckham looks on, his hair resplendent, and not a bead of sweat in these humid climes.
14/57 George Russell overtakes Ricciardo, and the Mercs are doing OK at the moment. Hamilton is slowly catching up Bottas in fifth.
13/57 A wobble from Leclerc loses a second to Verstappen, and Perez is chasing down the Ferrari of Sainz. Red Bull in the ascendancy, Ferrari seeming to struggle when the throttle is opened.
12/57 Mick Schumacher back down to 11th. Some cars coming in to change their tyres, with the hard-wear seeming not to be doing the job today, though George Russell’s Merc is improving on the same rubberwear.
11/57 Leclerc and Verstappen continue to chase each other as Daniel Ricciardo, Drive To Survive star, is going up to 12th. Sainz, in third, appears to be quicker than Leclerc, while five seconds separate the top four. That’s where the race will be won, barring calamity.
10/57 Leclerc gives chase, though Red Bull has more straight-line speed than the Ferrari. Verstappen seems to have this race within his own gift.
9/57 The Red Bull radio suggests they have spotted a problem with Leclerc’s tyres, as Verstappen, their man, closes in and seeks a DRS opportunity. And he takes it in the chicane, and blazes by at turn 17 past the pit straight. Leclerc had no answer to the Red Bull.
Updated
8/57 First man out is Guanyu Zhou, who is called in by his Alfa team and is audibly annoyed.
7/57 Mick Schumacher is up to 10th, and that would be his first ever points in F1 if he got to stay there.
6/57 The temperature is up seven degrees, say the TV blokes. That seems implausible. Hamilton is past Gasly and through into sixth, where he started the race. His team are still looking for the damage on his car.
5/57 Perez is flying as he chases down Sainz in third. Red Bull’s man, Christian Horner, says that Red Bull and Ferrari are suited to different parts of the track.
4/57 Hamilton says he has damage in his left rear.
3/57 Hamilton’s back up to seventh, breezing past Alonso without a backwards glance. Perez seems to be dropped already by the leading pack of Leclerc, Verstappen and Sainz.
LAP 1/57
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
Leclerc gets away cleanly and leads!
Verstappen squeezes past Sainz into P2 #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/tHtrerVA6m
Updated
2/57 Ricciardo went up four places to 11th and Hamilton is complaining that someone ran into him during that start. Fernando Alonso is seen as the culprit. Leclerc builds up a second’s advantage on Verstappen. Russell’s hard compound tyres dropping back in the pack, as are all of those on such tyres.
And they're off!
Leclerc gets clear and Sainz is overtaken by Verstappen, and Hamilton comes under pressure. Ferrari’s 1-2 goes immediately and Hamilton drops back two places to eighth. Bottas is in fifth, with Perez following Sainz. It’s all very bunched on the first lap. George Russell down to 15th, suggesting the Mercedes cars are struggling.
Updated
First time ever for F1 on this track, so many known unknowns, and a red flag seems likely at some point, with the safety car kept busy. The formation lap sets off, with 18 rather than 20 cars. Big cheers in the stadium as the cars whip by the stands. Lots of whooping and hollering going on.
Not long to go now, the rain has probably been washed away. Have all the celebs been cleared out of the paddock yet? That seems a little more uncertain.
Tom Stratford gets in touch: “Hey John. Brundle is making such a car crash of these paddock interviews, the stewards may have to deploy the safety car in a minute… anyway, enjoy the race!”
The Star Spangled Banner has received the usual treatment in the anthem section, whereby the singer appears to use it as a scale exercise. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen seems to be worried about the heat. Elsewhere, Aston Martin are starting in the pit lane as they had cooled their fuel too much, it appears, and to an illegal level. The cooler it is, the more horsepower, says Jenson Button.
Sunshine... and showers? 👀#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/MVRbUKatLo
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
The engines are revved and the cars have left the garages. Martin Brundle is on the grid and Mario Andretti is very chirpy, and seems to have won the chance to drive an F1 car at the Austin GP. Brundle speaks to Venus Williams, who says “we love having Lewis and all the drivers in Miami.” It’s rammed on the grid. Dj Khaled sings the praises of Miami, his home city. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City QB is a very tall man. “This is crazy, this is spectacular.” Except it’s not Mahomes, but Paolo Banchero, as Brunds had been given duff info. Racing people in short supply as it’s flooded with celebs.
Ah, Christian Horner, a celeb himself. “We’ve got to split them,” the Red Bull principal says of the Ferraris. No Astons on the grid, says Brunds, who engages the company of a cheerful-looking chap who says he is a “social media celebrity”... Aston are indeed starting from the pit lane.
Pharrell Williams says: “I love Ferrari cars but Lewis is my brother.” He’s chatting to McLaren principal Richard Mille. Chris Medland, F1 hack par excellence, is speaking to Lance Stroll, who says the Astons have problems and had to go to the pit lane. Jean Alessi, the Ferrari man, is backing his old team but is worried by Max Verstappen.
David Beckham blanks Brundle, not for the first time. But then relents. “It’s amazing, it’s what Miami does best, the sporting occasion.”
And so to the anthems....
Oh my gosh, Martin Brundle’s VIP vox pop on the Sky F1 coverage was the most incredible thing ever. It will be a clip show staple.
— Michael Hann (@MichaelAHann) May 8, 2022
Updated
It’s 40 years to the day since the sport lost Gilles Villeneuve at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The overall drivers’ standings after four races so far
- 1) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 86 points
- 2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 59
- 3) Sergio Perez, Red Bull, 54
- 4) George Russell, Mercedes, 49
- 5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 38
- 6 Lando Norris, McLaren, 35
- 7) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 28
- 8) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 24
- 9) Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 20
- 10) Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 15
- 11) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, 11
- 12) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 10
- 13) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, 6
- 14) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, 4
- 15) Fernando Alonso Alpine, 2
- =16) Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo, 1
- =16) Alex Albon, Williams, 1
- =16) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 1
A reminder of those Miami grid positions.
- 1) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- 2) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
- 3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- 4) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
- 5) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
- 6) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- 7) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
- 8) Lando Norris, McLaren
- 9) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
- 10) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
- 11) Fernando Alonso, Alpine
- 12) George Russell, Mercedes
- 13) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
- 14) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
- 15) Mick Schumacher, Haas
- 16) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
- 17) Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo
- 18) Alex Albon, Williams
- 19) Nicholas Latifi, William
- 20) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Rain is falling in Miami, and a track that is already a little wet through the humidity, may cause problems, making the road a bit greasier than the drivers would like. It’s hot out there, and the track may not be the easiest even in the dry. There were a couple of heavy crashes in practice sessions and a couple of drivers have been complaining, and concerned about their safety.
“I’m sorry to be critical but I told the FIA yesterday that my crash in second gear shouldn’t feel that hard, but today my neck was a bit in pain,” Carlos Sainz said on Saturday. “I told them *Let*s put Tecpro there* because it*s a very hard concrete wall.”
Updated
This isn’t F1’s first flush in America. Some of you may remember Mario Andretti, who spoke to Giles Richards.
Andretti’s opinion rightly still carries weight. He won the F1 championship with Lotus in 1978 but his career was long and successful across so many disciplines. He remains the only driver to have won the F1 title, the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. He was named US driver of the year in three separate decades: 1967, 1978 and 1984.
Why so many famous faces here? The answer is Drive To Survive, the Netflix series.
F1 is holding two races in the US for the first time since 1984, with Miami and the US GP in Austin. Next year it will add Las Vegas to the mix. The sport’s owners, Liberty Media who took over F1 in 2017, have made no secret of their ambition to build F1’s profile in the US and Drive to Survive has been vital.
Team principals have acknowledged the part the TV show has played in bringing their sport to a wider audience, even while some drivers such as Max Verstappen have criticised that it is played for dramatic effect to sell a narrative.
To say this is a celeb extravaganza is to put it mildly. Michael Jordan is doing his last dance, Serena Williams looks ace, Pharrell Williams looks happy, Will-I-Am has got a feeling it’s going to be a good, good night, and Michael Douglas has the same basic instinct, Tom Brady has touched down and David Beckham got a bend on to be here. Some real Don Johnson values in his get-up.
Beckham is in the building 🤩 pic.twitter.com/M1MlrX7B0B
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) May 8, 2022
We're not short of famous faces today! 🤩 #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/yFuh61MpP6
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 8, 2022
Updated
Preamble
Rhythm is gonna get’cha
Rhythm is gonna get’cha
Rhythm is gonna get you
The rhythm is gonna get you tonight
No way, you can fight it every day
But no matter what you say
You know it the rhythm is gonna get’cha
Gloria Estefan and her Sound Machine, Crockett & Tubbs, Steve Van Zandt, Dan Marino, Tony Montana, The Rock, Gentle Ben, Jon Secada, Police Academy 5, Phil Neville: yes, it’s probably time to shake out the Miami cliches before the big race itself, though a first F1 race here since 1959 is quite the occasion, as America, via Netflix, has becomes the latest territory the fastest vroom-vroom cars in the world of sport have conquered.
What’s at stake, beyond Lewis Hamilton’s battle to keep his body piercings on in the cockpit? Well, Charles Leclerc looked highly accomplished in qualifying where Max Verstappen did not, as the world champion was forced into a mistake when pushing too hard on his final lap. In the drivers’ championship, Leclerc leads Verstappen by 27 points, a handy advantage, and he has Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz alongside him on the starting grid, with Verstappen in third with Red Bull oppo Sergio Perez in fourth.
It’s hot out there, humid, too, and that could make for some fine entertainment. Reliability could be an issue for all the teams - just ask Hamilton’s Merc team even if he did make sixth on the grid this time - and may be the deciding factor.
Moon over Miami
Shine on my love and me
So we can stroll beside the roll
Of the rolling sea
Moon over Miami
Shine on as we begin
A dream or two that may come true
As the tide comes in
The grid is set for our maiden Miami Grand Prix 🔥
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 7, 2022
Who will you be cheering on around @HardRockStadium? #MiamiGP #F1 @f1miami pic.twitter.com/bUUUnkzwI7
