Preview GP Miami | Verstappen not the top favourite for once?
F1 News
- GPblog.com
More than eleven thousand kilometres away from Baku - where the Formula 1 circus was based last weekend - the battle is already on. Another street circuit awaits the drivers in Miami, although it is incomparable to Azerbaijan's capital in terms of weather conditions. In the Florida heat, there are two clear favourites. Both are driving for Red Bull Racing.
In a way, Formula 1 has become predictable so far this season. Four Grands Prix run (plus a sprint race) have all been won overwhelmingly by Red Bull. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are running their own championship, so to speak, and seem set to battle for the win again in the second ever Grand Prix at the US city of Miami. Since this is a street circuit, Perez should be the man to beat. After all, he has been known recently as the 'King of the Street'.
The chasers are mostly chasing
Ferrari, Mercedes and Aston Martin are leaving no opportunity to report that Red Bull is currently unbeatable. The margins between this trio of teams themselves are extremely small. In Baku, Charles Leclerc showed that the Ferrari does have potential, including blistering qualifying pace, shown over that one lap in qualifying. Over an entire race distance, although the Monegasque driver held the third and final spot on the podium, it was a bit of a squeeze, with Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin closing in the final stages.
Aston Martin missed the podium in Baku for the first time this season, but the English team seemed to have the faster race car in Azerbaijan too. As the Miami circuit has several sectors similar to the Baku City Circuit, a repeat of last weekend is very real: Ferrari battling Red Bull for pole, with Aston Martin battling the Italians in the race for third place.
Home race for Sargeant
However, further down the grid will be where much attention is for this weekend, and that will be for Logan Sargeant. The Williams driver is driving the Grand Prix in the city where he was born. Furthermore, he is the first American since Scott Speed in 2007 to complete a full season in Formula 1. Sargeant is a great unknown to many back home, as he finished his racing education in Europe. Still, the support for him in Miami will be great.
Miami is the first Grand Prix to be finished in the United States this season. In doing so, F1 is capitalising on the growing popularity of the sport. However, the race at Miami Gardens is far from sold out. Is it Red Bull's dominance that keeps Americans from buying a ticket?
Or could it be that they do not feel like paying a sky-high entry fee? A standing place costs over $500. Or is it perhaps the memory of a year ago, when there were plenty of complaints about the poor organisation? At the time, there were many complaints that there was virtually no shelter to be found while the sun was shining brightly. In any case: those who decide at the last minute to still visit the Grand Prix will have every opportunity to do so.