Norris Takes Maiden Victory in Miami
After years of trying and coming second on countless occasions, it was finally Lando Norris’ time to cross the finish line first and call himself a Grand Prix Winner! Max Verstappen could “only” manage second for Red Bull whilst Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the Podium in an entertaining Miami Grand Prix!
The Biggest Talking Points
Charles Leclerc got a poor start off the line, but he managed to remain in P2 after Sergio Perez went far too deep into Turn 1. The crazy thing about this was Sergio came within a whisker of wiping out his teammate Max Verstappen (that would’ve been something)! Oscar Piastri was the big mover early on, passing a bunch of cars at the start before he cleared Leclerc to move into second place. We then got a Virtual Safety Car as Verstappen took out a bollard at the “Mickey Mouse” chicane, and this allowed a few cars to make a free pitstop, whilst Max came in just a few moments after the VSC ended. This meant that Piastri led from Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, and this is when the Race really changed as Oscar and Carlos decided to box at the same time, and less than a minute later, Kevin Magnussen wiped out Logan Sargeant which meant a Safety Car was brought out. This then gave a free stop to Lando who was able to re-join in the lead, ahead of Verstappen who was running on older tyres.
When the Race got back underway, Lando was able to hold Max off into Turn 1 before Norris bolted up the road and the fight became between Piastri and Sainz for P4. Unfortunately, after a couple of near-misses, Sainz and Piastri did eventually come together, resulting in Oscar having to pit for a damaged front wing whilst Carlos ultimately received a 5-second time penalty. I honestly think the most disappointing thing about this was I genuinely think Oscar or Carlos could’ve won had the Safety Car came out a lap later. Anyway, we got some decent battling between Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso for the final couple of points whilst Lance Stroll was given a 10-second penalty after overtaking Alex Albon off-track. I personally think this was a bit harsh on Lance, but there you go.
The Standout Drives in the Race
I’ve given out two 10’s for the Miami Grand Prix and the first one is obviously for Lando Norris. This is such a popular win, and even though you could make the argument that Norris got lucky with the timing of the Safety Car, Lando’s pace at the end was far too good anyway and I’m honestly really pleased for him. The other driver I’ve given out maximum points to is Yuki Tsunoda because Yuki came home in a brilliant P7, so very well done to him and Visa Cash App RB on a great weekend! I also thought Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc still had great days to finish on the Podium, whilst Esteban Ocon did really well to score Alpine’s first points of the year and Oscar Piastri did really well too, even if he ultimately finished P13.
Drivers Who Had a Shocker
In total, I’ve only given out one 1 for yesterday’s Race and that is for Kevin Magnussen. K-Mag is all over the place right now, and he completely wiped out Logan Sargeant. I also thought Alex Albon had a really disappointing day, whilst Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, and Logan Sargeant all had disappointing outings (even though Logan was obviously unlucky).
Overall Race Results and My Ratings
Lando Norris: 10
Max Verstappen: 9
Charles Leclerc: 9
Sergio Perez: 6
Carlos Sainz: 7
Lewis Hamilton: 7
Yuki Tsunoda: 10
George Russell: 4
Fernando Alonso: 5
Esteban Ocon: 8
Nico Hulkenberg: 7
Pierre Gasly: 7
Oscar Piastri: 8
Zhou Guanyu: 5
Daniel Ricciardo: 3
Valtteri Bottas: 3
Lance Stroll: 3
Alex Albon: 2
Kevin Magnussen: 1
Logan Sargeant: 3 (DNF)
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