Five thoughts on Formula 1, heading into Imola

Max Verstappen won the Miami Grand Prix, giving Red Bull their fourth 1-2 placing of the year. Despite the initial overtaking and a few weather concerns, Miami’s second grand prix was a clean and speedy race that finished in this year’s status quo Top 5.

With Verstappen in P1 and Sergio Perez finishing in P2, Fernando Alonso retook his P3 podium slot, and George Russell ended in P4 in his Mercedes W14; Carlos Sainz of Ferrari rounded out “best of the rest” in P5.

This year’s race was more exciting than last year's, with more midfield battles and overtakes—mainly through the corners. Kevin Magnusson finished in P10 and scored some points for Haas, and Pierre Gasly and teammate Esteban Ocon brought home double points finishes for Alpine. Lewis Hamilton had a great drive, finishing the race in P6 after starting in P13.

Miami brought us some action this year, with storylines starting to emerge out of the woodwork as teams have started on their upgrade packages. Here are some storylines to watch out for in the two-week break between now and the Imola Grand Prix weekend on May 19:

The Verstappen and Perez Race

Miami was the first instance of Red Bull racing themselves for wins and, ultimately, the Driver’s Championship; it was sweet but short-lived. Verstappen took the lead from Perez after a quick one and half-lap battle.

Verstappen is damn good, and he had a fantastic drive on Sunday. He made daring maneuvers and used the RB19’s amazing speed to break through any Drag Reduction System (DRS) trains, putting him to the front of the grid by the end of Lap 15.

Sergio Perez had a good performance in Miami and as much chance to claim the top spot as his teammate. His pace was one of the best, gaining back P2 quickly after his pit stop, and retaking the lead as Verstappen came out of his pit stop on Lap 45. On fresh tires, Verstappen was able to take back his lead quickly, but Perez did fight back and made his teammate go wheel-towheel with him.

Verstappen’s stellar performance in Miami widened the gap between himself and Perez by 14 points in the Driver’s Championship. Perez, who had his best start yet to a racing season this year, has won two out of five of the races. A historically strong street circuit driver, Perez’s chance at taking the Championship will be defined by the series of proper track races taking place this summer. Perez has the skill and the car to claw back a few “W’s” from Verstappen, putting him in a position to properly fight for the championship and provide some additional race excitement. down the days” to when the car gets its big upgrades at Imola.

Hamilton started the race weekend in an unlucky spot, with a crowded midfield and DRS trains to fight through for any hope of points finishes. The added fact that Miami is a rear-end favoured track—the aspect the W14 is the weakest in—meant Miami was not a good environment for the Silver

Carlos Sainz on the other hand has been able to get the most out of the Ferrari, often battling Alonso for the podium spots. His smart driving sense has kept his car out of damage, and despite having to serve a five-second grid penalty, he still managed to stay in the Top 5. Sainz is one of the hardestworking drivers in F1, which has shown in his ability to score Ferrari the points needed to keep them shooting for a Top 3 finish in the Constructors’ Championship. As Ferrari starts to bring upgrades to the next few races, Sainz may dictate if Ferrari is a true contender.

Logan Sargeant’s Home Field Stinker

Alonso on the podium is a treat

Fernando Alonso continued to pop off as he took his fourth podium of the season in Miami; he looked comfortable in the quick Aston Martin all weekend, and in the race, he barely had any competition for third place. Crossing the finish line seven seconds ahead of fourth-place finisher George Russell, Alonso kept an eye on teammate Lance Stroll on the big screen monitors placed around the circuit. “We have big TV screens out of some of the low-speed corners. So it was very easy to follow the race on TV,” stated Alonso in a press conference following the race. The partnership between Alonso and Aston Martin has been a great success and has seen the pair into second place in the Constructors’ Championship. The car isn’t at its finest yet, as the team decides on its performance upgrade direction. Alonso is hungry for more podiums and believes that a secondplace finish is possible, and we want to see it; the forward trajectory of Aston Martin is one of the highlights of this season.

Hamilton and Russell can make pigs fly

Mercedes’ W14 has not been the car the team hoped for this year; far from it. The entire team has admitted they don’t truly know what has gone wrong with this car. Team principal Toto Wolff calls the W14 “a nasty piece of work,” and Lewis Hamilton is one of the most public critics of the car. Hamilton finds it slow, doesn’t feel comfortable in the driver’s seat, and is openly “counting

Arrows. Despite the odds, Hamilton showed that he’s still one of the best, and managed to gain seven positions to finish P6 in the race. Performing wily overtakes through high-speed corners, he eked out what speed he could in a car that runs no better than a greased pig on bath salts. Combined with George Russell’s P4 finish, this put Mercedes only six points behind Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship.

Mercedes shook up their technical department earlier this year, announcing big updates coming to their W14 concept in Imola, including the much-anticipated new front suspension, a new(er) floor, and maybe the first hints of what the new sidepod concept could be. While it may not be enough to catch the Red Bulls, the upgrade will hopefully give Hamilton a car that he can connect with to take the fight to Ferrari and Aston Martin.

Ferrari’s Peaks and Valleys, and Carlos Sainz

For whatever reason, Charles Leclerc has not found his footing in the Ferrari. Miami dashed away the hopes gained after his podium finish in Azerbaijan, and the SF-23 was slow in Miami even with a new floor upgrade. All weekend long, both Ferrari drivers expressed that the car was difficult to drive, showing that the team is further behind than they initially hoped. Leclerc’s main fight in Miami was against Kevin Magnusson of Haas, Ferrari’s customer team (a team that pays Ferrari to supply them with an engine); the battle was underwhelming, to say the least.

Logan Sargeant, the sole American Logan Sargeant, the sole American driver, has had a very up-and-down premiere F1 season. Sargeant had a respectable twelfth-place finish in Bahrain, but ever since, he has been plagued with troubles. Be it slow qualifying, poor race performance, DNFs, or the crash during his qualifying session on April 29, it’s been a rough handful of races for “LogeyBear.”

It only makes it worse that in his post-race interviews, his genuine personality makes it so hard not to love the guy. Sargent puts a lot of pressure on himself, and demonstrates an understanding of the intensely competitive nature of the sport; he knows the potential that’s in his car and team.

A Fort Lauderdale native, Miami is Sargeant’s backyard; Miami was the race Sargeant needed to get back to his Bahrain standard to take some pressure off his shoulders. Unluckily, Sargeant had one of his poorest outings yet and finished dead last in his home race. At this point, someone needs to take Logey-Bear out to get drunk in the two weeks until Imola. He’ll have added pressure to perform in Round 6 to show that he can rebound and ultimately has what it takes in F1.

The Road Ahead

The two weeks between races will come and go quickly. Imola is the first of three fun and crucial back-to-back competitions that will set the tone for the summer. As the teams trailing Red Bull implement their upgrades, it will be interesting to see how these cars evolve in the coming weeks, and what adaptations ultimately prove successful.