The trail to the stars… but not many sparks.
For this first Grand Prix in history disputed in Miami, the spectacle was more in the pre-race than on the circuit of the International Autodrome, a 5.4 km track around the Hard Rock Stadium, lair of the NFL Dolphins and Masters 1000 tennis team.
Michael Jordan, Serena Williams or David Beckham (who even warmed up Charles Leclerc in the paddock with a small tennis ball!) invited themselves to the middle of the palm trees and a dummy marina in painted water to witness Max Verstappen's domination in a race without much suspense.
Warming up with David Beckham for Charles Leclerc ⚽️
🎥 @ScuderiaFerrari #F1 #MiamiGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/GaN1GVRFzh
— Sector F1 (@Sector_F1) May 8, 2022
The Dutchman, reigning world champion, took advantage of a small error on the 9th lap by Leclerc, who started from pole position in his Ferrari, to overtake the Monegasque and go it alone.
One of the rare emotional moments of the Florida afternoon with a Gasly (Alpha Tauri)-Norris (McLaren) collision on the 41st lap and a wheel loss for the Briton requiring the entry of the Safety Car…
Hamilton only 6th
But the intervention of the safety car, if it revived the suspense a little, did not reshuffle the cards and Verstappen kept the lead while the battle for third place raged between the Ferrari of Sainz and the Red Bull of Perez.
This third success for Verstappen in five events allows him to get closer to Charles Leclerc in the general classification.
The Scuderia driver, winner of the other two races, now has a 19-point lead (104 against 85).
Next meeting on May 22 in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix, dominated last year by Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who had to settle for sixth place on the American track.
