Red Bull’s Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen can take another big chunk out of Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc’s 27-point lead at the first Miami Grand Prix this weekend, the sport ready to rock around its newest venue.
The pair have won twice each this season and the fifth round on the fast track laid out around the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins NFL team, could see another big battle between the 24-year-old front-runners.
“I think this weekend is going to be pretty crazy,” said Verstappen, the reigning world champion who won last year’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
“I love racing in Austin so it´s fun that we get to go to another state and race this year.”
Verstappen was dominant at Imola in Italy two weeks ago when he won a Saturday sprint from pole and led from start to finish on Sunday while also taking a bonus point for the fastest lap.
That slashed Leclerc’s lead from a previous 34 points and the Ferrari driver will be keen to hit back strongly after the team failed to live up to expectations in front of their home crowd.
Struggling Mercedes, the team of seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton who finished a lowly 13th at Imola, will be similarly fired up even if they still have somewhat lower expectations.
In Miami many eyes will be on Hamilton’s apparent struggles
Hamilton has a great record in America and Mercedes are hoping for clear signs of progress in taming their bouncing car so it can go faster and finally start to reveal its hidden potential.
“Since we returned from Italy, we’ve learned as much from the weekend as we can and, in parallel, our learning has continued in the wind tunnel and simulations,” said team boss Toto Wolff.
“We have found several directions for improving the car, and we will be conducting experiments in Miami to correlate those simulations, and hopefully confirm the development path for the coming races.”
McLaren, with Briton Lando Norris on the podium at Imola, and Australian Daniel Ricciardo will also fancy their chances of strong points.
The race is a sellout, with 240,000 expected over the three days and a capacity 82,500 on Sunday with the sport promising a cast of celebrity guests and a Super Bowl-style atmosphere.
In an attempt to capture the Miami vibe, organisers have created a simulated marina with dry-docked yacht and a boarded surface creating the impression of water for the television cameras.
“Miami is going to be an experience for all of us, for the racing community, for the fans out there watching,” said Hamilton. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin)
2022 Miami Grand Prix Facts & Stats
- First Miami Grand Prix at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens,
- Round 5 of the 23-race season
- Lap distance: 5.412km. Total distance: 308.326km (57 laps)
- Start time: 19:30GMT (1530 local)
- Miami is the 77th venue to be used in the history of the championship that started in 1950, and only new circuit for this season.
- It will be the 11th location used in the United States, a country that has hosted Formula One in more places than any other.
- Sunday’s will be the 61st grand prix in the United States, not including the Indianapolis 500 when it counted towards the championship.
- Four current drivers have won in the United States: Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.
- Ferrari have won more races in the United States (13) than any other team.
- The Hard Rock Stadium is usually home to the Miami Dolphins NFL team. The track has three straights and 19 corners, with cars expected to reach top speeds of 320kph.
Grand Prix Victories
- Mercedes’ seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton has a record 103 career victories from 292 starts
- Hamilton has won a race in every season since his debut in 2007. He has yet to win this year, however, and his most recent was in Saudi Arabia last December.
- Ferrari have won 240 races since 1950, McLaren 183, Mercedes 124, Williams 114 and Red Bull 77.
- Ferrari’s championship leader Leclerc and Red Bull’s reigning world champion Verstappen have each won twice this year.
Pole Position
- Hamilton has a record 103 career poles, most recently qualifying fastest in Saudi Arabia last year.
- Leclerc has been on pole twice this year, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Verstappen taking the other two.
Fastest Lap
- Leclerc took the fastest lap bonus point in the first three races, Verstappen did it at Imola last month.
Milestone
- The fourth round at Imola marked the first time F1 has seen successive grand slams (pole, fastest lap, win and leading every lap) by different constructors and drivers. Verstappen did it in Italy and Leclerc in Australia for Ferrari.
- Ahead of Miami, Leclerc is 27 points clear in the championship and will retain the lead whatever happens in Miami.
- Ferrari lead Red Bull by 11 points in the constructors’ standings.
- Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell are the only drivers to have scored points in every race so far this year. Russell is the only one to finish all of them in the top five.
- All 10 teams have now scored points, the first time that has happened since 2018.
