We are back to racing this week after a long break for drivers, team principals and the fans. But the Miami Grand Prix is overshadowed by drama, bad weather and many retirements from the race.
A few days before the Grand Prix was set to take place an announcement swept through the Formula 1 media: almost all of the drivers (and some ex-drivers) are under investigation in Italy for tax fraud.
And what a start back into racing action we witnessed! Kimi Antonelli could not keep up with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen at the start, the Mercedes and Red Bull ended up locking up right into turn 1 allowing the Ferrari to push ahead and once again take the lead on the opening lap. However that was not enough bad luck for Verstappen as the dutchman lost the rear and spun right into turn 2, dropping off drastically. Due to this he had to drive very aggressively from the get-go and fans got to see pure racing drama on lap 2 of 57 as Alex alton, Carlos Sainz and Max verstappen battled it out for the ninth spot on the leaderboard.
The young Italian could make a comeback on lap 4, regaining his advantage at the front by overtaking Leclerc on the inside line. Antonelli has really been threatening his teammate’s chances of a maiden World Championship – something most fans and experts saw happening this season for George Russell. Leclerc and Antonelli battled it out for P1 for most of the race with Antonelli ending up on top. Lando Norris joined the fight as well, the McLaren looking to be up to par with the other top teams for the first time this season.
On lap 6 of the Miami GP we lost Isack Hadjar after he hit the wall, as well as Pierre Gasly who has hit and ended up rolling over into the barricades. Luckily he was okay and could walk away from the incident with no injuries. Hülkenberg and Lawson had to retire as well.
After a relatively unspectacular middle of the race the final lap showed utter chaos. After Antonelli, Norris and Piastri had already crossed the finish line to complete the podium, George Russell tried overtaking Charles Leclerc for fourth place. He made contact with the Ferrari and Leclerc ended up spinning. Due to this he lost is excellent position and falls from the podium place he held two laps ago to sixth in the final ranking.
