It took less than ten laps for the reigning world champion to take the reins of the race, which he would not let go until the finish.

The Dutchman, who started third on the grid, blew Sainz out of second place from the start only to take the lead of the race a few laps later, to the detriment of championship leader Charles Leclerc.

This is the third victory of the season for Verstappen and the 23rd of his career.

At the end of the race, status quo in the championship: Leclerc remains in the lead, with 104 points, ahead of Verstappen (85 pts) and the Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull, 66 pts), who finished at the foot of the podium in Miami, after a battle for third place with Sainz.

In the constructors' championship, the same situation: Ferrari continues to lead the dance, ahead of Red Bull.

Behind the leading men, the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton secured 5th and 6th place, ahead of the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas.

Frenchman Esteban Ocon, driving his Alpine, climbed to eighth place despite starting from the back of the grid.

The Ferrari of Monegasque Charles Leclerc during the Miami GP, May 8, 2022 Chandan Khanna AFP

Five abandonments are also to be deplored.

In addition to that of the Chinese Zhou Guanyu, the Dane Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and the German Sebastian Vettel, the Briton Lando Norris (McLaren), was the victim of a collision with the AlphaTauri of the Frenchman Pierre Gasly, also forced to leave. abandonment.

"Not up to standard"

Around the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins American football team and the Miami Tennis Open, heat and humidity put the bodies of the pilots to the test, under the eyes of David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Pharrell Williams and company glimpsed at the start line.

Max Verstappen during the Miami GP, May 8, 2022 Chandan Khanna AFP

If the splendor of this first Grand Prix in the Florida city seems to have met the expectations of the spectators (82,000 were expected on Sunday), on the track, a wind of discontent cooled the atmosphere.

In question: the asphalt which, in the opinion of the pilots, is not sufficiently adherent outside the trajectory and contains many debris.

Deemed "not up to standard" by Alonso - or simply described as a "joke" by Pérez, promoter Tom Garfinkel today claims to be "open to any changes to improve the track".

"The surface itself, we assess it. We want to make sure we get it right, because if the drivers can't get off the racing line there won't be as many overtaking and that's not not what we want”, explained Tom Garfinkel during a press briefing on Sunday.

The race, however, did not confirm these pessimistic predictions.

The Mercedes of Briton Lewis Hamilton during the Miami GP, May 8, 2022 Chandan Khanna AFP

To add to the spectacle, the layout also featured "error generators", which organizers say were "designed to allow the cars to get closer to each other" and thus increase overtaking opportunities.

It was near one of them that Ocon - and Sainz before him - came to the same place and violently crashed into a concrete wall during the tests - calling into question the safety of the circuit.

© 2022 AFP