Verstappen scares Ferrari, but Sainz achieves a podium of great courage

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In Miami, a territory that was presumed favorable for Red Bull,

dealt another blow to

, unable to hold the world champion, nor push him to the limit when his rival was dehydrated.

In the fifth race of the World Championship, Ferrari's superiority vanished again against

, who was already leading by the ninth lap, despite starting third.

With these bad omens, the

was at least able to celebrate the arrests of

, who took the podium after a thrilling battle against

.

No one seemed to give a penny for his options against a Red Bull with fresh tires, but the man from Madrid endured with guts.

At the bizarre podium ceremony, Sainz raised his trophy grimly as Red Bull clenched its fists in honor of an exhausted Verstappen.

In the three races that his car endured, the Dutchman crossed the finish line first and his 19-point deficit now seems like a mere formality.

Because on this unprecedented track, the RB18 showed another notable improvement.

Enough for the winner to hold his own, without apparent effort, against Leclerc's last effort.

And for Pérez to demand a full effort from Sainz, who responded as Mattia Binotto expects of him.

After a terribly dull hour, only encouraged by the appearance of a

, the fans vibrated with their pulse for the third step of the podium.

And Fernando Alonso, from more to less, crossed the finish line ninth, pending an investigation for gaining an advantage after leaving the track.

That came to nothing, like Alpine's request for Esteban Ocon to give up five seconds against the Spaniard.

After starting last, eighth place was too sweet for the Frenchman.

Alonso had enjoyed the start, taking risks and scratching three positions.

Without Lance Stroll in front, who had to start from the

due to a fuel temperature anomaly, the climb was somewhat easier.

Although he ran into the left rear wheel of

very soon .

Carlos's first duty should be to hold the Red Bulls behind him, with the ambition of someone who knows his potential.

And although Verstappen won the game in the first corner, it is better to point out the skill of the champion than the weakness of the Spanish.

From third place there was still a lot of work for Sainz, who was very regular and competitive, denying any mischief by

.

Because the RB18 was on top of speed, as Verstappen soon revealed.

With off-the-chart comfort, on lap 9 he shrugged off Leclerc, who was already struggling with his tyres.

As the engineers had predicted, degradation would be a determining factor.

Alpine, who has been choking on this management, made a move very soon with Alonso, trying the

against

.

It was lap 15 and the helplessness experienced behind the AlphaTauri's spoiler was multiplied by the inexperience of its mechanics: 5.7 seconds of

.

Just as bad was that of Ferrari with Sainz (5.4) due to a jam in the right front wheel.

Carlos didn't have to regret more adversity because a sporadic loss of power caused Pérez to lose his way.

Once the equator was passed, when the strategists looked askance at those clouds that hinted at rain, the race finally caught fire.

Who pressed the switch, much to his chagrin, was

, whose showy hookup with Gasly on one of the straights was going to cause the appearance of the

.

Music to the ears of

and

, who still resisted without going through the pits, but bad omens for Sainz, who would have to hold Pérez down again, with fresh tires.

Perhaps the accident was due to a mistake by Gasly, surprised by the McLaren while he was speaking on the radio.

Or to the damage to his car, rammed by Alonso a lap earlier.

Once the incident was noted, the stewards decreed five seconds for the Spanish.

With the platoon so close together, serving this penalty was a terrible servitude.

Ocon, on soft tires, simply had to handle his handicap.

And even then he would be ahead of the finish line.

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• Carlos Sainz Jr.

• Fernando Alonso

• Max Verstappen

• Red Bull Racing

• Sergio Perez

• Mercedes GP

• Lewis Hamilton