2022 F1 Miami GP: Max Verstappen beats Charles Leclerc in another classic battle

Max Verstappen won the inaugural F1 Miami GP in a race that featured another close battle between the two title protagonists. In a race that was rather uneventful compared to the expectations that were placed on it, the first event in Miami did enough to keep fans interested and should be a good foundation for the event to build on.

In case you missed it, here's what happened!

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2022 F1 Miami GP: Here's what happened!

#1 Max Verstappen gets one over Charles Leclerc, deficit now less than 20 points

Max Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc in another close battle between the two drivers. After it became obvious that Leclerc's Ferrari did not have the legs on the Red Bull, it was only a matter of time before Verstappen stormed past the championship leader.

The Dutchman did just that in the first stint. After fending off the challenge for the first few laps, he started pulling away and was able to manage his pace through the pitstop phase as well. Leclerc mounted a late attack after the safety car restart but the superior straight-line speed meant that the Red Bull was never in any kind of trouble. The second Red Bull and Ferrari drivers also had a decent run as both Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez were able to finish 3rd and 4th in the race respectively.

#2 George Russell benefits from the safety car and beats Lewis Hamilton again

George Russell kept his record of finishing inside the top-5 in every race of the season intact by putting together a storming drive. Running an alternate strategy, Russell was able to slowly but steadily make his way through the field. When the safety car was called, he was in a prime position to take advantage of that.

Lewis Hamilton, running a conventional strategy, lost out to his teammate who was able to benefit from a fresh set of medium tires as compared to his used hard tires. The Miami GP was still a very good race for Mercedes as it established itself as the third-fastest team on the grid.

#3 Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel tangle with each other

Mick Schumacher has been under the pump all season due to a lack of performance compared to his teammate at Haas. The Miami GP was not the race where that story continued as the German was easily the faster Haas driver around the track and looked destined to score points near the last few laps of the race.

Similar was the case for Sebastian Vettel, who was biding his time behind his teammate and in the pack. He made the most of the safety car and was running in the points when out of the blue, Schumacher's divebomb on the first corner cost both drivers valuable points. And with that move, the two drivers who shared a rather affectionate relationship in the paddock ended up with nothing to show for their brilliant race management.

#4 Esteban Ocon comes from last to beat his teammate and score points

Esteban Ocon has a habit of creeping up on fans with his performances more often than not. The Miami GP was another such race for the Frenchman. Ocon kept his nose clean after starting the race at the back of the grid and on an alternate strategy. In the later stages, he was able to benefit from the safety car to finish the race on the tail of his illustrious teammate whose two 5-second penalties meant another win for the 25-year-old in the teammate battle. Alpine leaves the Miami GP with a point-scoring finish for Ocon. However, Alonso's additional 5-second penalty after the race saw him losing his points finish and gave another point to the Williams driver Alex Albon. Furthermore, it even propelled Aston Martin's Lance Stroll to a points finish.

#5 Joy for Alex Albon and agony for the likes of McLaren and Alpha Tauri

Alex Albon kept his impressive season going with another points finish for Williams at the Miami GP. Meanwhile, both McLaren and AlphaTauri suffered a strange reversal in fortunes in the race. Lando Norris was caught out by traffic in the DRS train that prevented his progress. Later, Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri, with somewhat degraded tires, got entangled with the McLaren to end Norris' race.

It was a race where the AlphaTauris suffered from severe tire degradation while the McLarens could not get over their rotten luck throughout the Miami GP. In the end, what looked like a promising race for both the teams yielded nothing in terms of points.