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The Miami GP probably did not live up to the kind of anticipation that was built around the race throughout the week. Having said that, the 5th event of the 23-race season did make an impact and was not a boring race by any means. We still had a battle for the lead and we still had a very close battle for points in the midfield.
So, what did we learn from the Miami GP? Let's find out!
#1 The Miami GP needs some necessary fine-tuning
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The Miami GP was a decent first race for any event. There are, however, some glaring areas where the circuit needs work. The biggest of them all is the addition of extra barriers at Turns 6 and 7 where both Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon suffered a hefty wack. They need to make that place safer because we can't have bruised and hurt drivers every time we visit Miami.
The second key change is the tarmac. You cannot have a surface that breaks up whenever there is an F1 GP in town. And third, fine-tuning could performed to the way the DRS zones were set up. The third DRS zone might have to be longer and maybe the detection zone needs to be placed a bit earlier as well.
The track surely has potential and next year the organizers will be in a much better place when it comes to preparations for the race.
#2 It's going to be a see-saw battle between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen
Red Bull had the advantage at Imola where the car was marginally quicker. Similarly in Miami as well, it did appear that the upgrades that were brought to Imola had made Red Bull a more competent challenger for Ferrari.
Concurrently, however, it cannot be denied that Red Bull had the cards in its favor with the long straights on the circuit. Their respective cars, the way they have been built this season, have an intrinsic advantage over the other.
Red Bull is a rocketship on the straights, while Ferrari seems to be the more nimble and faster challenger in the slow speed sections. There are going to be tracks that are going to favor Ferrari and there are going to be tracks that favor Red Bull this season. In the end, it's going to come down to who can maximize the results when all is said and done. We're in for another close season and that is exactly what the fans would have been hoping for at the start of the season.
#3 Lewis Hamilton is starting to get rattled by George Russell
Lewis Hamilton is not fighting for the title this season. He's fighting a mini-battle against his teammate to find out who will finish ahead, one that he's losing at the moment. The seven-time world champion had the overall better Miami GP. He qualified well ahead of George Russell, was driving his own race, and looked destined to finish ahead in the race as well. It all turned on its head, however, with the appearance of the safety car.
Hamilton was a sitting duck at the time as Russell stormed his way through the pack. The senior Briton's demeanor was of someone who was slightly irritated by all that had happened. The comments by the pundits in Imola have surely had an impact on Hamilton and the loss to Russell in the Miami GP is not going to go down well with him one bit.
#4 Fernando Alonso needs to calm down!
Fernando Alonso has been very good this season. The Spaniard has performed at a very high level so far. If you look at the championship standings, however, he has only two points to his name while his teammate is 22 points ahead. Fate has not been Alonso's best friend this season and at the Miami GP, it was starting to have an effect.
The Spaniard was stuck behind Pierre Gasly for a long time in the first stint. The undercut did not work for him due to a poor pitstop. In the second stint, after staring at the AlphaTauri rear wing for a long time, Alonso's rather aggressive overtake saw him almost push Gasly out of the way.
The Alpine driver compromised his race with that move as he picked up a 5 second time penalty and then later in the race, after the safety car restart, he picked up another one that shoved him outside of points. Alonso has the potential to produce a special result with that Alpine. All he needs to do for now is relax a little.
#5 Alfa Romeo has a driver problem
That Alfa Romeo can score a podium in the right conditions this season. What that car has shown in the last two races is that it is fundamentally very strong and will be producing some strong results all season.
There is, however, a feeling that in every race that the team is leaving something on the table. It is not maximizing the results that its car can deliver. Valtteri Bottas could have finished fifth in the Miami GP. Guanyu Zhou, on the other hand, has found it hard to even reach the same level of Bottas in the first five races.
While the team has suffered from a multitude of reliability issues, it should be at least a comfortable fourth in the championship. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It is 15 points behind McLaren in fifth after the Miami GP. The Hinwil-based outfit needs to take a look at its drivers, as well as at the driver market, to see if Pierre Gasly will be a good fit. Can a Nico Hulkenberg do better than Bottas? Can an Oscar Piastri do a better job than Zhou?
Alfa Romeo had a strong car in the Miami GP. It's about time it starts producing the results that match the car.
