F1's reigning champ takes inaugural Miami Grand Prix by a whisker

MIAMI GARDENS — It was a rocky start to the inaugural Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix Formula One weekend for Max Verstappen, but a perfect, trophy-hoisting ending.

The reigning world champion, who struggled with various car issues during practice Friday and was unhappy with his third-place qualifying effort on Saturday, made up for it when it mattered most.

Verstappen made a daring move in the opening two turns to take second place, then chased down pole sitter Charles LeClerc, passing him for the lead 25 laps into the race and ultimately beating him to the checkered flag by 3.786-seconds for his third victory of the season.

LeClerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz completed the podium, holding off Verstappen’s Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez in a tight battle right to the finish line.

The win is the 23rd of the 24-year-old Dutch driver’s career and third in 2022 — cutting the two-time race winner LeClerc’s lead in the championship standings to 19 points.

“It was a very good comeback,’’ Verstappen said. “I think I needed a good start. I didn’t know what to expect on the actual start. We had a good launch, and I saw the opportunity to go around the outside and so I tried and nothing worked. So I just tried to see the pace of Charles in front of me and pulled alongside and it was very close, I just couldn’t get into the DRS initially.

“And then I think Charles started to struggle a bit more with the front tires and it seemed like ours was very good on the medium compound. So once I got ahead, I think that basically made my race because I opened up the gap.”

It was a dramatic 57 laps at the 3.363-mile, 19-turn Miami International Autodrome around Hard Rock Stadium — a maiden race that was every bit the “big event” its organizers had hoped for, generating considerable buzz both locally and nationally.

Former first lady Michelle Obama stopped by to take in Saturday practice. And such sports superstars as Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Serena Williams and David Beckham joined celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Ashton Kutcher to tour the garages and meet drivers before the race — then sat trackside to enjoy one of the season’s most exciting races flag-to-flag.

The sold-out facility — estimated to have hosted 82,5000 people on race day — got to see F1 at its best — dramatic passing and a tight battle for victory between the season’s most accomplished duo — Verstappen and LeClerc.

Verstappen and LeClerc, who's also 24, have been racing one another since childhood. And already this season is shaping to be a grown-up version of their go-kart and early Formula car days — the first real duel for a world championship between them.

LeClerc was able to close the gap to Verstappen, benefiting from a caution period late in the race. As the field bunched up to take the green flag, it gave him an opportunity to try to retake the lead on the ensuing restart. But LeClerc was unable to get close another to attempt a pass.

“We need to look at that and be on top of it for the next race,’’ LeClerc said of believing his tire degradation contributed to his losing the lead.

“Apart of that, I think we were very competitive, at least as competitive as Max. After the safety car [for the caution period], I thought we would have a shot to take back the lead, but it wasn’t enough.”

Their close competition for the victory was indicative of the entire afternoon from the front to the rear of the running order. Sainz battled fourth-place finisher Sergio Perez all race in the same “Ferrari vs. Red Bull” competition between their teammates that decided the win.

Mercedes teammates George Russell and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton went after it for fifth and sixth place. Ultimately Russell — on fresher tires — held off Hamilton to earn his fifth top five finish in as many races.

The full course caution period that regrouped the field came out for an incident between McLaren’s Lando Norris and Scuderia Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly, who collided and scattered debris across the course. Neither could continue and joined Zhou Guanyu as the only drivers not classified in the final 20-car finishing order.

The last yellow came out with only three laps remaining. Mick Schumacher, a second-year F1 driver who competes for the only American team in the sport, Haas F1 Racing, had been on pace to score the first points of his career. But he collided with fellow German driver and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel during the final laps and Schumacher instead finished 15th.

“The car was really good so I’m gutted that we didn’t get to stay in position — I think it was our best race so far this year,’’ said Schumacher, the 21-year old son of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.

“We’re all racers, we’re all trying and it was always going to be tough to keep new tires behind us and it was very unfortunate to end the race in that way. We were on the road to getting points, but we’ll have to wait some more.’’

The series takes a two-week break before the next race in Spain on May 23.

NOTES

Two-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick made it a clean Miami sweep Sunday, scoring her second series victory in as many days on the Miami International Autodrome. On Saturday, she made a last-lap pass for the win. On Sunday, she won pole position and was out front all race — easily leading Nerea Marti to the checkered flag by three seconds.

The 23-year old British driver — who drives for former American Olympian Caitlyn Jenner’s first-year team — has now won four consecutive races in the female-only W Series — dating back to last season. She now holds a 24-point lead over Sunday’s third-place finisher Alice Powell in the championship standings.

American Chloe Chambers, 17, who won top rookie honors on Saturday, finished 10th on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Grand Prix Verstappen Victory