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The 2023 F1 Miami GP recently took place on May 7th. There was a fair amount of on-track action, with several overtakes and battles happening at the top and in the midfield. In the end, Max Verstappen was victorious and took the chequered flag, while his teammate Sergio Perez finished second, ahead of Fernando Alonso, who bagged his fourth podium of the season.
When it comes to the Driver of the Day, Max Verstappen took that crown as well. The Dutchman started the race in ninth since he was unable to complete his flying lap in qualifying due to Charles Leclerc's crash. However, the reigning world champion plowed through the field with ease. Within 14 laps, he was back up to second position and was hunting down Perez.
On lap four, Max Verstappen overtook both Charles Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen in turn one. This was one of the most dominant moves from the Red Bull driver since the DRS zone is quite short before drivers have to brake, yet he was able to overtake both of them at once. Moreover, he brilliantly extended the life of his hard tires, which he drove on for 45 laps right from the start of the race.
In the latter stages of the race, Verstappen came out of the pits and had to chase Sergio Perez, who was on old hard tires. Though it was a no-brainer that the Dutchman was going to take the lead, Perez fought courageously. But the reigning world champion kept pushing and zoomed past his teammate to win the 2023 F1 Miami GP.
Max Verstappen sums up his race in the 2023 F1 Miami GP
After winning the 2023 F1 Miami GP, Max Verstappen shared his initial thoughts and feelings. He was delighted to have a clean race and win without any issues. The main difference-maker for him was how he was able to extend the life of his hard tires for 45 laps, which gave him a chance to eventually beat Perez.
In the post-race interview with former world champion Jenson Button for Sky Sports F1, he said:
"It was a good race. I stayed out of trouble at the beginning and I just had a clean race. Picked the cars off one by one and then I could stay out really long on the hard tires and that's where I think we made the difference today. And then I had a good little battle with Checo (Sergio Perez) at the end. We all kept it clean and that's most important. Great, great win today."
After the Miami GP, Verstappen has extended his lead in the championship, while Checo is 14 points behind him.
