So now it is a two-horse race. Or a two-bull race. Whatever.
Sergio Pérez’s victory final weekend in Baku, Azerbaijan, was his second of the Formula 1 season, and it allowed him to match the victory complete of his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. More essential? The outcome allowed Pérez to shut Verstappen’s lead within the drivers’ championship to a mere six factors because the sequence arrived within the United States for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
Since the one certain factor in Formula 1 in the mean time appears to be {that a} Red Bull will end first, every week now looms as a hinge second. Pérez begins Sunday with the benefit: He is on pole place, and is aware of a win will give him the lead within the factors race. Verstappen, certainly seething after qualifying ninth, can be seeking to reassert himself. Driving indignant appears to swimsuit the reigning world champion, however weaving by the sphere — which he did impressively in March in Saudi Arabia — is inherently harmful.
Buckle up.
How to Watch
Time: The Miami Grand Prix begins at 3:30 pm Eastern time. (Global begin instances are right here.)
TV: The race will air on ABC within the United States, which is — DVR alert — a change from its typical dwelling on ESPN. Coverage begins at 2 pm Eastern. Not in America? A full listing of Formula 1 broadcasters, wherever you’re, could be discovered right here.
Sunday’s Starting Grid
A Red Bull will begin first, however possibly not the one you anticipated? Pérez was quickest in qualifying, and he can be joined on the entrance row by the relentless (and apparently ageless) Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.
Verstappen will begin ninth, however he is already gone from beginning fifteenth to ending second in a race this yr, so do not rely him out. Lewis Hamilton has fared even worse: He’s to start out thirteenth.
Race Week in Miami in Photos
Sunday’s Story Lines
Red Bull vs. Red Bull. Red Bull’s group principal, Christian Horner, has achieved nothing to maintain his two drivers, Pérez and Verstappen, from competing to see who could be the quickest every week. So far, that’s producing wins and little friction. “They know as a group how we function: They get the possibility, they get the chance to race one another,” Horner stated in an interview with ESPN this week. “But they should respect the group on the similar time.” Today might supply the primary check of that hands-off administration: a scorching day, a good observe, a champion (Verstappen) on the hunt. For the second, Horner is targeted on gathering as many factors as potential, on extending the benefit earlier than different groups make enhancements. Two drivers who’re far forward of the sphere? “It’s a luxurious downside to have,” he stated.
Predictability. Four races. Four Red Bull victories. Three 1-2 finishes. Is Formula 1 getting, um, boring? There was renewed dialogue this week about whether or not the dominance of Red Bull’s vehicles was spoiling the enjoyable for everybody else. George Russell of Mercedes, who declared on the season’s first race that Red Bull had “this championship sewn up,” advised that the one precise competitors lately was the battle for third place. Was he proper? “I’ll do my greatest to not make it boring, however on the finish it is a sport,” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc stated. “It’s like in each sport. Sometimes a group is simply higher than others. And in the mean time it is the case with Red Bull.”
Rain? There are thunderstorms within the forecast for Sunday, and rain might play an enormous position on a observe that was repaved forward of this yr’s race. Verstappen misplaced an excellent qualifying lap after a slip despatched him a tiny bit extensive in a flip, prompting a little bit of expletive-laden self-criticism. Leclerc went into the wall twice after pushing his Ferrari too laborious, prompting expletives from lots of people (together with Verstappen, for the reason that pink flag that adopted Leclerc’s crash on Saturday prevented Verstappen from a closing problem for pole place). Qualifying confirmed that drivers who saved to the racing line had been rewarded for it. Grip was far much less certain outdoors it. A moist observe will not make that any higher.
What They’re Saying
-
“I need to win, so this isn’t nice.” — Verstappen on qualifying ninth.
-
“This shouldn’t be acceptable.” — Leclerc, after crashing on the identical flip two days in a row.
-
“The automobile shouldn’t be quick sufficient, and we’ve not acquired any understanding why that’s.” — Mercedes group principal, Toto Wolff, saying the quiet half out loud.
Last Time Out
Sergio Pérez received final week’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the fourth victory for Red Bull in 4 races and the third 1-2 end for Formula 1’s dominant group this season.
Drivers’ Championship Standings
Red Bull’s solely race at this level is towards itself:
Next Race
May 21: The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, the primary of Formula 1’s two stops in Italy, can be held on the well-known Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, higher often known as Imola.