Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: Gongora / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP 21:15 p.m., May 04, 2023

Red Bull heads to the United States this weekend for a fifth win in as many races since the start of the Formula 1 season. But for that, the cars of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen will have to be wary of the Ferraris in ambush.

A few days after another double on the streets of Baku, Red Bull will be aiming for a fifth success in five races this weekend at the Miami Grand Prix, where Ferrari will want to confirm the improvement in Azerbaijan. With already four victories, the dominance of the Austrian cars is unchallenged, even if for the first time this season, it had to cede pole position to the competition on the streets of the Azerbaijani capital, where Charles Leclerc had started at the head of the race and the sprint.

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Temporary circuit

For the second edition of this race held on the Miami International Autodrome, a temporary circuit located next to the Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the Dolphins, the American football team, Red Bull could crush a little more its opponents, who have become accustomed this season to fight for the crumbs left by the RB19. After a frustrating weekend in Baku, where he finished third in the sprint and second in the race, two-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen will try to regain the top step of the podium at a circuit where he won last year.

"I'm looking forward to Miami, it was a very physical circuit and it was very hot last year, we'll have to be prepared for that. It really won't be easy. It's quite a complex circuit and the track has been resurfaced so we'll see if it has an impact on our performance." His main opponent will probably be his teammate Sergio Perez, author of a superb weekend in Azerbaijan with victories in the sprint and the race that allowed him to return to just six points behind Verstappen in the world championship standings.

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Ferrari on its way?

"I was really confident in the car in Baku and we had two perfect races, everything went in the right direction. I hope we can continue our momentum and perform very well in Miami," said the Mexican, fourth in the 2022 Florida Grand Prix. After making its worst start to the season since 2009, Ferrari finally raised its head in Azerbaijan and Leclerc, who had only finished one race in the top three (7th in Saudi Arabia), clinched the first two podiums in 2023 for the Scuderia in the sprint and in the race.

A relief for the Italian team and its French boss Frédéric Vasseur, who wants to continue this ramp-up: "Miami is still a special circuit, which has the characteristics of an urban layout and that our two drivers appreciate very much so I am confident that we can take another step forward with our SF-23." Aston Martin, for its part, will be looking to consolidate its second place in the constructors' standings and its star driver Fernando Alonso, still as consistent with a fourth place in Baku, will defend dearly his third position in the world championship.

The English team, however, will have to be wary of Mercedes, which will be revenge after a somewhat disappointing weekend in Azerbaijan, where Lewis Hamilton clinched sixth place and George Russell finished at the foot of the podium in the sprint. The Miami Grand Prix will be the first stage of the season in the United States, which will host two more races this year, in Austin (Texas) on October 22 and Las Vegas (Nevada) on November 19.