© Getty Images

Race Recall: Miami🦩A reflection on our last time (and first time) in the Sunshine State☀️

There’ssomethingspecialaboutMiami,wedon’tknowwhatitis,butit’scertainlyoneofthemostvibrantplacesonthecalendar.TheMiamiGrandPrixhasbecomeaninstantclassiclastyear,andwhilewecanwaittoreturntotheMagicCity,we’refirstgoingtolookbackatwhathappenedattheinauguralraceintheSunshineState.

The track is set within the complex of the Hard Rock Stadium – home of the Miami Dolphins – and it may be a temporary circuit, but it certainly doesn’t feel like that when you’re in the thick of it.

The street-style circuit is 5.41km long and offers 19 corners, three DRS zones and three straights for overtaking. The race will see 57 laps and the current lap record is 1:31.361 which was set by Max.

Welcome To Miami© Getty Images

With the facts and figures out the way, let’s recall what happened at the first Miami Grand Prix. It was a brand-new track so how did the Team prepare for a track none of them had seen before? “You spend time on the simulator to understand where the track is going,” explained Max Verstappen. “Sometimes you go to tracks which have been around for years, but not on the F1 calendar so you understand a bit of what they’re like, but with a completely new track, like Miami was, it’s just hours in the sim.”

All that effort in the simulator paid off in 2022, but it didn’t just help Max. “The sim helps a lot, but not just driving, it helps with the set-up of the car for the Team it’s good to have a bit of understanding,” he explained, before adding: “The hardest bit to understand is the shape of the kerbs, the grip level, which is always hard to judge, we try to do the best we can, and in Miami we were very close to the real-world experience.”

A Cloudy Day In The Sunshine State© Getty Images

So with all this preparation completed it was time for Max and Checo to hit the streets of Miami.

Max qualified in P3 with Checo in P4, the Bulls locked out the second row with Ferrari locking out the front row.

At the start of the race, Max got a great start and after the sprint down to turn one, he was able to get in front of second-placed Carlos Sainz and then set off to hunt down Charles Leclerc who had got away cleanly.

Max shadowed Leclerc through the opening laps and on lap eight he closed right up to the Ferrari down the long back straight. He couldn’t make the move stick into turn 17, but as they crossed the line to begin lap nine, Max got DRS again and swept past the Ferrari into turn one to take the lead. Where he stayed until the end of the race and collected his third win of the season.

Miami Magic© Getty Images

Checo was hunting down Carlos Sainz to take P3. The Mexican Bull was inside DRS but couldn’t get in front. He then radioed to say there was a loss of power in his RB18 and was soon eight seconds behind the Ferrari. He was, however able to stay in P4 and hold off the hunting Mercedes of both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. It certainly made for an exciting first race in Miami.

And heading back this weekend, Max said: “It’s an amazing city and a good atmosphere so excited to be back.”

Taking The First Ever Miami GP Win© Getty Images