2023 FORMULA 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix

F1 Returns to Miami for the Second Year.

Round 5 of the Formula One World Championship was back stateside for its second year in Miami, Florida at the Miami International Autodrome. After a successful first year in 2022, the race continued to attract hi-profile athletes such as Michael Jordan, David Beckham and Tom Brady alongside other attending A-List celebrities.

The warm tropical weather made for an enjoyable weekend of racing and activities for teams and fans. Leading up to the race the NFL’s Miami Dolphins players met up with drivers at the Hard Rock Stadium. Drivers were put through their paces in a friendly football skills competition. Switching gears, players such as Tyreek Hill got to see the cars and crew up close during pitstop practice.

Miami which is known for its rich culture didn’t disappoint, providing the best entertainment for fans. The sell-out crowd was treated to international musicians and performers such as DJ Tiesto playing at the Hard Rock Beach Club, top restaurants (over 65), chefs and cuisine showcasing the flavor of south Florida. Local restaurants and eateries were also featured, so whether you were experiencing the race weekend walking around the campus or from a hospitality suite, there was always a new dish to try.

The track was broken up into campuses, so depending on where fans were, each area offered different vantage points to view the race, check out merchandising and food and beverage. Campus Passes allowed race goers to walk around the venue and experience the different activations. The popular Fan Zone was an area for race fans to try their hand at Pit Stop challenges, race on an eSports simulator, meet a favorite driver or take photos to commemorate the event.

For those that didn’t attend the actual race, there were many off-site activations around the city to participate in. Red Bull held an event in Wynwood at La Tiendita Taqueria to celebrate its driver Sergio Perez, while Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton along with IWC hosted the IWC Chrono Basketball Challenge that included other pro athletes.

On the culinary side, American Express partnered with Major Food Group bringing back Carbone Beach dinner party held in South Beach.

Like the fan fest at the track, SWARM held their own racing fan fest in Wynwood Marketplace that attracted over 100,000 people.

Qualifying

As qualifying started, the dominant Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez easily laid down quick laps setting the bar for others to match. Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg both set times fast enough to move into Q2. At the end of the session, both of Mclaren’s drivers failed to make it out of Q1 along with Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll and American Logan Sargeant.

Moving to Q2 the Red Bulls and Ferarri’s again went to the top of the time sheets forcing the rest of the drivers to fight for the remaining spots. Mercedes and Haas only managed to get one of each of its drivers to move on with Hamilton and Hulkenberg both getting knocked out.

The top ten drivers making it into Q3 battled it out to see who would be on pole. Sergio Perez set the benchmark with teammate Verstappen struggling. As the session continued drivers dealt with the tricky conditions with the wind picking up. With minutes remaining, Ferarri’s Charles Leclerc ran into trouble at Turn 4 sending his car spinning into the barriers. The crash caused a red flag, therefore ending Q3 early and interrupting the other drivers trying to set a final flying lap. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was lucky to take second on the grid ahead of his compatriot Carlos Sainz in third and the surprise Haas of Kevin Magnussen in fourth.

Championship leader Verstappen had to settle for starting ninth in the race on Sunday.

Race Recap

The warm Miami sun greeted fans and teams for race day, but not without more wind that would challenge the drivers. The race got under way to the roar of the crowd (heavily cheering for Sergio Perez). Perez got off the line defending against Alonso and Sainz, while fourth place was short lived for Magnussen in the Haas who quickly fell to sixth.

The home race driver Logan Sargeant suffered damage in his Williams after contact with Aston Martin forcing him to go into the pits early for front wing change. This effectively compromised the rest of his race.

True to form, Verstappen started making up places moving up the field using his race craft and superior Red Bull to get back to the front. At one point he took advantage and made up two spots moving past Magnussen and Leclerc while they battled each other.

Perez continued to stay out front and keep the others behind controlling the race. The trio of Perez, Sainz and Alonso were leading, but Verstappen was not too far behind putting down some very fast laps. The leaders eventually made their first pit stops sticking to their individual race strategies. The stops shuffled Verstappen back to the front with Alpines Pierre Gasly finding himself in third after lap 25.

Drivers such as Alpines Esteban Ocon who had not pitted yet, found themselves vulnerable as the those with fresher tires made quick work getting by. Verstappen in the lead was pushing his hard tire eventually getting called in on lap 46 to finish the race on mediums. Though he pitted late, he emerged in good track position to attack his teammate for the lead who had pitted much earlier. The strategy worked out for Verstappen who got by Perez shortly after and pulled away to the checkered flag.

Perez ended up finishing 5 seconds behind, while Fernando Alonso in his Aston Martin took another podium in third place.

While the race was fairly straightforward, it still had times where the action was exciting since many of the teams were running different race and tire strategies. Continuing their dominance, Red Bull came away with another 1-2 finish and a major points haul in both the driver and constructor championships.