Miami GP: Formula 1: Red Bull star Max Verstappen is living a dream form for any sportsperson. The relentless, strong-headed, and insanely fast Dutchman has been invincible over the last two years. Winning and shattering records has become an everyday business for him. He goes out on the track as if he owns it, and more often than, he does. Fans witnessed the display of his sheer dominance and finesse most recently at the Miami GP. After the race, he went into the details of how great tyre management was the key to his win. Follow Formula 1 Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
The Red Bull driver started at 9th on the grid after a botched-up qualifying session as a result of Leclerc’s crash. However, as repeatedly witnessed, there was no stopping him once he started brazing past his peers. Cruising through the midfield, he had all guns blazing right from the start of the race. Verstappen started on hard compound tyres, with a strategy to go on a long first stint. By lap 20 of 57, he was leading the race from his teammate Sergio Perez who started on the pole.
At lap 48, Verstappen, finally went into the pits to go for fresher tyres. By this time, he had considerably far ahead of rest of the grid, except Perez. Verstappen came out of the pits a second and a half behind the Mexican driver. However, as expected by him, the Dutchman overtook Perez in under a lap’s time on much fresher soft tyres and later came home to take a comfortable win.
Tyre Strategy worked wonders for Max Verstappen
The Dutchman came home to take the chequered flag 5.384 seconds clear of his teammate. Notably, Verstappen surpassed 8 cars to reach the tail of Perez, who started on Pole in Miami International Circuit. In a recent interview, Max Verstappen opened up about the incredible tyre strategy that worked wonders for him.
“It was better than expected, I guess. It was just really trying to understand a bit how they would last in the beginning or the middle of that stint, I was not sure. That’s why probably I was a bit slower than I could have been, but that also that made me go faster, so that’s where I could extend my gap again,” said Verstappen as reported by Racing365.
Now, he is leading the championship with 119 points under his belt followed by teammate Perez with 105 points to his name.
Verstappen eager on being “perfect” through the season
Apart from that, he also achieved a massive feat in his race. He became the first driver since Niki Lauda to win a race starting 9th on the grid, 39 years later. On asking about his incredibly dominant current form, Max had a rather confident and straightforward answer.
“I always feel unbeatable. But sometimes other people also have a really good day, and they can be close to you or match you and be ahead. What is important is to try and be close to 100% perfect every single time. [Saturday] wasn’t perfect, so overall, this weekend wasn’t perfect,” said Verstappen
“But it’s a long season, and I try to always be as close as possible to perfect,” added the Dutchman.
Tell us your favorite moment from the Miami GP weekend. List your prediction for Red Bull and Max Verstappen this season in the comments down below.
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