Max Verstappen (F1.com)
The inaugural Miami Grand Prix went to Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team. After Red Bull Power Trains' inefficient beginning to the season, the Christian Horner-led team are officially back in the championship fight. Charles Leclerc and Ferrari still hold the advantage heading to Barcelona, but Verstappen's impressive weekend in the US has shrunk the gap.
Yet another grand prix weekend means yet another edition of the Formula 1 power rankings, courtesy of Sincere Sports.
Since this was a whole new track, the scores are somewhat boosted to account that it is significantly more difficult to get used to a whole new circuit than it is to succeed at a well-known one.
As usual, I added all the drivers' scores together to find the top 10 drivers for this particular race and on a season-long basis.
If you've forgotten, we take machinery entirely out of the equation and simply judge the drivers based on how well they did with the equipment they possessed.
Let's begin.
THE SCORES FOR MIAMI
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Race Position: 1st
Score: 9.2
It wasn't a perfect weekend for Max Verstappen, by any means. That's why he doesn't get anywhere near the perfect score that he achieved in Imola last week. Red Bull kept the Dutchman out for the whole of FP2, so he was a step behind the majority of the grid in terms of adjusting to the circuit.
In qualifying, it looked like Max could be able to go for pole or at least the front row, but a mistake on his final run cost him and the Dutchman had to settle for P3 behind the Ferrari duo. It would have needed a near perfect drive to win the race as a result of numerous difficulties over the weekend.
But that's exactly what he did. He picked off Carlos Sainz on the line and very quickly used DRS down the start-finish straight to pass pole-man Leclerc. It was another perfect Sunday for the reigning champ.
2. Alex Albon, Williams
Race Position: 9th
Score: 8.6
Alex Albon continues to get results out of a Williams car that doesn't seem capable of getting results. It took George Russell over two years to get his first points with Williams. Now, after just 5 races, his replacement, Albon, has two points-scoring finishes.
The former Red Bull junior is singlehandedly keeping Williams in the fight for 9th in the Constructors' Championship. As wild as it sounds, Albon now has more points than Fernando Alonso this season.
From P18 on the grid, Albon put his head down on Sunday and made his way up to P10 at the flag before Alonso's penalty promoted him. Albon has a strange way of making his way up the field in a very subtle way. Though he made up 8 positions in the race, I rarely noticed him making actual overtakes, but he clearly did.
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Race Position: 2nd
Score: 8.5
Leclerc's Miami weekend was about damage limitation. The Red Bull was a rocket, while Ferrari were stumbling. The upgrade in Barcelona should help minimize that gap,
While finishing second to Verstappen is a tough result, he definitely accomplished damage limitation. Second place is still a reasonable result for the Monegasque.
He picked up yet another pole position on Saturday, but his Sunday performance paled in comparison to Verstappen. Leclerc's defense was less than adequate; he probably could have made it a good bit tougher on his rival. He also couldn't take advantage of a late safety car. Either way, it was a solid, if unspectacular weekend for Leclerc.
4. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Race Position: 8th
Score: 8.0
Ocon took advantage of a rough afternoon of penalties and crashes to make a huge leap up the grid. The Frenchman cracked his chassis in a brush with the wall at Turn 14 during FP3 and he was ruled out of qualifying. That means that Ocon was forced into P18 at the start on Sunday.
But he put together a mega performance to get a 4-point haul for himself. Ocon executed Alpine's strategy to perfection and took advantage of the VSC to sneak into the top 10.
Ocon continues to show that he is the unofficial team leader at Alpine, as he continues to put together a fine season.
5. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Race Position: 7th
Score: 7.9
Speaking of a fine season, Bottas has transitioned very well to the Alfa Romeo team. He continued his fine string of results with a 7th place finish in Miami.
The Finn kept his chin up after a difficult free practice, which saw him crash and lose valuable time out on track. Nevertheless, Bottas had yet another stunner of a Saturday which put him in P5.
On Sunday, he raced hard and looked destined to stay in the same grid slot where he started. However, the late VSC got the Mercedes dup of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell right up alongside him. A late and rare mistake from Bottas dropped him to P7, but it was still a very impressive drive from a man who is making a habit of very impressive drives.
6. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Race Position: 3rd
Score: 7.8
Carlos Sainz needed a smooth weekend after failing to complete one full lap of racing action over the last two Grand Prix. Though he didn't show the ruthless pace that he is capable of, he definitely went a long way to get out of his recent funk.
Sainz managed to outqualify Max Verstappen on Saturday, quite the feat given how rapid Verstappen's Red Bull was in the race. It was one of the Spaniard's better laps of the season. A pole position is coming soon.
Verstappen breezed past Sainz at the start on Sunday. It left the Ferrari driver needing to hold off Sergio Perez for the final podium position. Though Sainz perhaps got lucky with Perez's malfunctioning engine, he still found a way to keep the Mexican driver behind him, no matter the circumstances.
T7. George Russell, Mercedes
Race Position: 5th
Score: 7.7
George Russell had an uncharacteristically poor qualifying performance in Miami. "Mr. Saturday" was outqualified by his teammate by quite some margin, as the Briton went out in Q2.
However, Russell had the feel of the upgraded W13 in race trim. He steamrolled through the field after a tough start on the hard tires. Mercedes got the strategy just right with Russell, as they took advantage of the Virtual Safety Car to limit the time lost in the pits.
Though you could call Russell lucky for that, he still finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in a 1-v-1 shootout for P5. Russell is now the only driver on the grid to finish in the top 5 in every race of the season. He's 23 points ahead of Hamilton and in a very impressive P4 in the championship.
T7. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Race Position: 6th
Score: 7.7
Despite finally seeming to get the handle on his Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton still came up short in his bid to trim the gap between himself and George Russell.
Hamilton finished P6 in Saturday qualifying and looked to push forward. However, the top 5 got away from him pretty quickly and Hamilton looked to be on his own. However, once Russell began his push, Hamilton started to crack under pressure.
Though he took advantage of Bottas' mistake to go into P5, Russell slipped past his teammate, leaving Hamilton frustrated and angry about Mercedes' strategy call.
9. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Race Position: 4th
Score: 7.6
Red Bull continued to trim the gap to Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship. Though Max Verstappen's win was obviously the main reason, Sergio Perez' recent consistency has been a real asset.
The Mexican is nowhere near Verstappen, but as we saw with Carlos Sainz last year, it pays to be consistently in the top-5. That's what Perez has been doing lately.
Perez deserved P3 at the flag, but some engine issues derailed his podium aspirations. Even after the safety car, Perez's engine continued to plague him and it put him out of contention for third place. Even so, Perez had a solid performance.
10. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
Race Position: 10th
Score: 7.0
Lance Stroll makes his first appearance of the Formula 1 power rankings after a second consecutive points finish for Aston Martin. Stroll continued to find his way to seamlessly blend into the background and he proved my personal opinion that the Canadian is one of the most underrated drivers on the grid.
Stroll made Q3 with a sneakily impressive Saturday. Stroll got a stroke of luck when the safety car was called out during the race. However, a couple other drivers got lucky and they couldn't take advantage like Stroll could.
JUST MISSED OUT
Strangely enough, not only did Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris collide in the Miami Grand Prix, they were also the drivers to barely miss out on the top spot. The two drivers both had identical 6.6 scores. By their high standards, Miami was a pretty disappointing race, but they both showed some pace before their DNFs.
The other driver to come close to the top 10 was Fernando Alonso. The Alpine veteran put together a battling drive, but he was uncharacteristically sloppy and the penalties that he accrued for his carelessness pushed him out of the top 10 in both the actual race and the power rankings.
THE OVERALL STANDINGS
A few minor changes in the overall standings this week. At the top of the leaderboard, title rivals Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen swap places. The reigning champion is now top of the overall standings, but Ferrari's prodigal son is nipping at his heels.
Further down the grid, Alex Albon moved up with his Miami masterclass. Kevin Magnussen of Haas dropped a spot, but remains in the top 10.
7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had a solid, if not unspectacular drive in the city where he's always wanted a race. It thrusted him back into the top 10, as his former teammate Fernando Alonso drops out in his place.
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Season Average: 9.0
Last GP: 2nd
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Season Average: 8.9
Last GP: 1st
3. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Season Average: 8.1
Last GP: 3rd
4. George Russell, Mercedes
Season Average: 8.0
Last GP: 4th
5. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Season Average: 7.8
Last GP: 5th
T6. Lando Norris, McLaren
Season Average: 7.5
Last GP: 6th
T6. Alex Albon, Williams
Season Average: 7.5
Last GP: 8th
8. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
Season Average: 7.3
Last GP: 7th
9. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Season Average: 7.2
Last GP: 9th
10. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Season Average: 7.1
Last GP: NR
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