Max Verstappen has won the first ever Miami Grand Prix after his two roaring laps. There was a safety concern on Lap 41 when the McLaren driver spun the right-rear tyre and it ripped off. Fernando Alonso was given a five-second penalty because he left the track and had an advantage on the penultimate lap.
Verstappen celebrated on Instagram, saying, “Yes boys!!! 🏆 Incredibly happy to win here in Miami 💪. No weekend is ever easy in F1, especially on a new demanding track like this one 🥵. That’s why I am all the more proud we were able to put it all together in the end, great work team @redbullracing.” Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrated his victory by sharing a video of the team and Verstappen receiving the trophy.
Charles Leclerc from Monaco came in second place. On Instagram, he said, “Disappointed that we didn’t have enough pace to win the race today but we’ll work harder than ever to get back on top in race pace. Miami, you were incredible though, loved every seconds of this week 🇺🇸❤️.” Carlos Sainz Jr. from Spain won third place. He posted, “🏆 P3! Great to be back on the podium after some eventful races. Tough race though. My neck was still not 100% and became a bit of a limitation whilst defending from Checo on new Mediums was super tricky. Now on to my home GP!”
Verstappen had previously won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this year. It seems that success and victory is rolling into his hands.
Alonso had dropped to ninth place for his penalty. He had clashed with Pierre Gasly. He also got another penalty point on his FIA racing license. In total, he has five penalty points in the 12-month period. He did apologize to Gasly for crashing into him. Alonso said, “It was a tough race on our side for sure. I was very aggressive at the start. I made four or five places there, I touched with Lewis, but the car was good after that. So that was a lucky touch.”
Alonso explained that he was trying to make a low pit stop but he didn’t have enough time to do so. He explains, “Then on the pitstop, I had a slow pitstop, I lost like four seconds there, so I had to recover that time with Gasly. Eventually I closed the gap, and I was very optimistic on the move with him, so I touched with Gasly again, and I had the penalty, five seconds, which I deserve, it was my mistake, I braked too late.”
