A show on and off the track
So you don’t have a race weekend for almost a month and Formula 1 is there for two weeks in a row! This weekend it will be time for the second time ever for the Grand Prix of Miami.
Miami Grand Prix timetable
A second United States Grand Prix was added last year, taking place in Miami, Florida. This year there will even be another American GP, ​​but Miami will have the honor to kick off this season in the US. A race in the US; that means you have to take into account a considerable time difference. Here in the Netherlands it sometimes gets a bit late if you want to follow everything. Also special, the Grand Prix starts on Sunday evening at 9:30 PM, so not on a full hour.
| Date | Session | Time (NL) |
| Friday May 5 | First free practice | 20:00 – 21:00 |
| Friday May 5 | Second free practice | 23:30 – 00:30 |
| Saturday May 6 | Third free practice | 18:30- 19:30 |
| Saturday May 6 | Qualification | 22:00 – 23:00 |
| Sunday May 7 | Grand Prix | 21:30 |
Championship standings
After the first three races, anyone who thought that Max Verstappen would drive to his third world title with two fingers in his nose this season may have to put that thought aside for a while. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez has taken quite a few points in Azerbaijan by winning both the sprint race and the GP and is therefore still close behind Verstappen. The question remains whether he can keep this up for a season, but in any case Verstappen has more competition from his teammate than ever.
| driver | Pt. |
| 1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull | 93 |
| 2. Sergio Perez – Red Bull | 87 |
| 3. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin | 60 |
| 4.Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes | 48 |
| 5. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari | 34 |
| 6.Charles Leclerc-Ferrari | 28 |
| 7.George Russell-Mercedes | 28 |
| 8. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin | 27 |
| 9. Lando Norris-McLaren | 10 |
| 10. Nico Hulkenberg | 6 |
We can be quite brief about the constructors’ championship: Red Bull has no competition to tolerate for the time being. The season is of course still long, but after the third 1-2 for that team, it seems that Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes need a miracle to be able to compete with Red Bull. In any case, it is very exciting which of those three teams takes second place.
| Constructor | Pt. |
| Red Bull | 180 |
| Aston Martin | 87 |
| Mercedes | 76 |
| Ferrari | 62 |
| McLaren | 14 |
| Alpine | 8 |
| Hare | 7 |
| Alfa Romeo | 6 |
| AlphaTauri | 2 |
| Williams | 1 |
Circuit
The Grand Prix of Miami is quite different from the Grand Prix of the United States in Austin. That is to say: one is even more fake than the other and there is a show spectacle around it that you only find in the US. The circuit, a semi-street circuit on the grounds around Hard Rock Stadium, was dressed last year in blue sails to simulate a harbor complete with yachts. This year the hospitalityspaces of the teams on the field in Hard Rock Stadium and undoubtedly the winner will be driven back in there after the race under bombastic escort. Now let’s hope that the race itself will also turn into a spectacle.
If anything, last year’s race proved that the Miami International Autodrome lends itself to entertainment. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen provided some great moments in the race for the lead and Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz also fought nicely towards the end. This year, the battle for victory may be more between Verstappen and Pérez. Certainly on the rather long straight there is probably no size on the Red Bull RB19. The second part of sector 2, with only a few gentle bends, guarantees high speeds. Max Verstappen can try to break the race lap record of 1:31.361 that he set himself. He has 57 laps to do that on Sunday.
Weather forecast
It is a pity for the spectators that they cannot take a dip in the mock harbor next to the track, because it promises to be a very hot weekend. The whole weekend there are temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius and there is not much more than some light clouds in the air.
.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl