Max Verstappen is the first back-to-back winner of the season, winning from third on the grid in front of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Max Verstappen – 10
Even when Ferrari held the advantage going into the race, with a one-two in qualifying, Verstappen came out as the winner, having clinched first place every time he saw the chequered flag.
Verstappen aggressively moved past Sainz at the start and then used his pace to win the race in front of Leclerc.
Pressure arose towards the end, with the safety car helping Leclerc, but the Dutchman defended well, to close to within 19 points in the standings. Everything is open ahead of the coming rounds.
Embed from Getty ImagesCharles Leclerc – 9.5
The Monegasque’s fight with Verstappen continued in Miami, as Leclerc got pole position on Saturday and held the upper hand going into the race.
However, the Red Bull car proved marginally quicker on Sunday (pole came with the complicity of a mistake by Verstappen in his final run) and Leclerc was second best.
The Ferrari driver seems to have all it takes to fight for the championship and continues to be the leader, with the fourth podium in five races.
Carlos Sainz – 7
After two dreadful weekends, Sainz at least finished on the podium to boost his morale.
However, the Spaniard will be far from pleased, as he once again struggled to match Leclerc and his chances were already over at the start, when Verstappen moved past.
He will be pleased by the stoic defence he exerted on Sergio Perez at the end, but, as he admitted, it’s clear he wants more.
Embed from Getty ImagesSergio Perez – 6.5
After a convincing beginning of the season, Perez was off the podium after struggling to keep up with the pace of the front three.
He wasn’t aided by a short engine issue which cost him several seconds but had the chance to make up for it at the end, being the only frontrunner to stop for newer tyres.
However, he couldn’t move past Sainz and wasted his chances by trying an attack from far back, which resulted in him going wide.
George Russell – 7.5
Fortune played its part, but George Russell came back from P12 on the grid to finish fifth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
The late safety car guaranteed him a free stop, as he used the newer tyres to good measure to clear his teammate and consolidate his fourth position in the championship.
Even if, once again, he proved quite lucky with the strategy, his pace was strong, and he was likely to climb back up even without the safety car, thanks to a fast and long first stint on hard tyres.
Embed from Getty ImagesLewis Hamilton – 7.5
This time around in Miami, Hamilton appeared more comfortable, even if the Mercedes was not yet where he would want it to be.
Hamilton recovered from a poor start to return as high as P6 with a series of overtakes and had his eyes set on Valtteri Bottas before the safety car allowed his teammate to close back up to him.
He still finished sixth, as a mistake by Bottas compensated for Russell’s overtake. After five races, 36 points was not the number of points he wanted to have.
Valtteri Bottas – 7
A mistake denied him fifth, as Bottas was racing superbly with the Alfa Romeo in front of the two Mercedes cars, before running wide and losing both positions with a few laps left.
It almost cancelled out a weekend in which he was best of the rest in qualifying and for the majority of Sunday, with some great pace throughout.
It was a shame, as it would have otherwise been a perfect weekend.
Embed from Getty ImagesEsteban Ocon – 7
Esteban Ocon had to miss out on qualifying, as a crash on Saturday morning prevented him to run and forced him to start from the back.
A long first stint on hard tyres meant he gained a free stop when the safety car came out, and the Frenchman took advantage of a series of incidents in front to finish P8.
Alex Albon – 8.5
After spending most of the race at the back, struggling for pace, Alex Albon miraculously came away with a point, which was the result of a clean end to the race.
The Williams team opted for the Thai-Brit to stay out on worn hard tyres, and Albon defended well, before clinching the opportunity to score points as a series of drivers in front got caught up in collisions.
Lance Stroll – 7
The Aston Martin driver was forced to start from the pit lane, after achieving a Q3 appearance for the first time this season.
The Canadian was well in the mix for points, by getting the free stop under the safety car.
A long scrap with Kevin Magnussen, which saw both drivers end off the track multiple times, proved costly, but Alonso’s penalty meant he still salvaged a point.
Embed from Getty ImagesFernando Alonso – 5
Once again, the Spaniard failed to capitalise on the car’s pace, with a messy weekend from which he came away with just two points. He felt he was held up in qualifying and also was the protagonist of a slow stop.
Fernando Alonso struggled to move past Pierre Gasly, with the Alpine lacking the straight-line speed needed. As he saw the opportunity later in the race, he tried a move, which resulted in a collision and a penalty.
The final stint proved that the pace was there, but he was dropped to P11 following the added time in the end, as he received a further penalty for cutting a corner.
Embed from Getty ImagesYuki Tsunoda – 5
Despite a promising P9 start, Yuki Tsunoda went backwards during the race, apparently struggling with tyre degradation, which forced him to an early stop.
The Japanese driver’s race was practically over, as he was lapped and not even the late safety car allowed him a chance to fight for points.
Daniel Ricciardo – 5
It was a weekend that never kicked off for the Australian, who vainly tried to recover from a difficult qualifying.
Things appeared to be good when he extended his first stint, but the switch on hard tyres didn’t see him catch back up to the field.
He switched to softs after the late safety car, but was stuck behind Albon and just missed out on points.
Nicholas Latifi – 4.5
His struggles continued, as Nicholas Latifi’s gaps from the rest of the grid were heavy throughout the weekend.
The Canadian driver kept clean and didn’t hit the wall, but it was clear that the other drivers were out of his league and he was often the back runner of the grid, once more.
Mick Schumacher – 5
This time, Mick Schumacher looked fast and was on course to score, deservedly, his first Formula 1 points.
A crash a few laps from the end with fellow German driver Sebastian Vettel increased his wait, as Schumacher went for a tiny gap and the move resulted in a crash.
Considering the race situation, and the fact that he was in the points, perhaps the reward was too little compared to the risk.
Embed from Getty ImagesKevin Magnussen – 5
The momentum from the start of the season dried up, as Magnussen’s struggles carried on in Miami, which saw the Dane eliminated in Q1.
He was active during the first part of the race, and his pace suggested that he could have scored points, even if this time Schumacher could match him.
However, as he often did during his career, he was involved in heavy scraps which lost him time, dropping out of the points before eventually retiring at the end.
Embed from Getty ImagesSebastian Vettel – 5
Vettel was so close to repeating the feat of scoring points, this time starting from the pit lane. He caught up to the pack after the drivers made their first stop and appeared to hold on even on worn tyres.
The safety car came at the right moment and Vettel proved opportunistic, but perhaps a distraction led him to crash into Schumacher and have to retire just kilometres away from the flag.
Pierre Gasly – 6
Pierre Gasly was the protagonist of a decent race, with a quick start from P7 on the grid and the early part of the race spent battling against Alonso.
Once the Spaniard caught up to him, following a slow stop, his race was ruined, as the two made contact, with some damage caused.
Gasly struggled to steer the car but perhaps should have noticed it and paid extra care, as he collided with Lando Norris because of his problem in a fast section of the track.
Embed from Getty ImagesLando Norris – 5
A miserable weekend arrived after the big points scored in Italy. Norris qualified in P8, after being the protagonist of an error in qualifying, as the car didn’t appear as quick as it was a few weeks ago.
His first stint was slightly messy and his case wasn’t helped, with a slow pit stop seeing him end up in traffic, from which he struggled to emerge.
Norris was the protagonist of a lucky escape, as a high-speed crash with Gasly saw him walk out on his legs, but sporting-wise, it wasn’t his day.
Embed from Getty ImagesGuanyu Zhou – 5
The points scored on his first race perhaps came too early, by giving an illusion that Zhou arrived prepared for the F1 challenge.
The Chinese driver was only 17th in qualifying, more than a second behind Bottas, and a problem saw his race end early, as he was featuring at the back of the pack.
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