Martin Brundle on Miami Grand Prix results…

Former Formula 1 driver, Sky Sport F1 commentator Martin Brundle summed up the results of the Miami Grand Prix…

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen well-trained Formula 1 drivers so exhausted after an hour and a half of racing. I know this feeling when after the finish every cell of your hot body is missing moisture, when every organ, muscle and tendon aches, lacking the necessary substances. Adrenaline is gone, the pain is increasing. I really felt for Max Verstappen, who just sat down on the asphalt after the finish – he wanted to lie down and moan a little.

After two hours of racing in Singapore, the riders also seem overwhelmed, but in Miami good grip, low tire wear and thus high speed complicated the situation. Races on street tracks always take place in a closed room, the temperature in the cockpit can be above 50 degrees – aerodynamics will not increase air resistance to cool the rider, who in turn is wrapped in several layers of clothing, gloves, helmet , boots, balaclava.

The FIA ​​insists that riders wear no jewelry or watches, but fire-resistant shorts. It’s worth recognizing that if your panties are on fire, you have other very serious problems. Climbing into the cockpit of these machines, the riders already mentally agree with the willingness to take risks.

It seems to me that many ridiculous incidents at the end of the race are only caused by overheating – there is a slight dizziness, you lose concentration for a moment – and you make a mistake.

I think the organizers of the Miami Grand Prix and Formula 1 have done a great job, given the limited space and the fact that the race was held in a former parking lot. But such excitement around the Grand Prix before was only in the key stages of the championship.

The surface was ok, even at Turn 17, which looked like a patchwork quilt, it withstood the pressure of racing 20 modern F1 cars. Lewis Hamilton and others thought the chicane at turns 14-15 was too steep, but I liked it.

There is no doubt that the concrete wall on the outer radius of Turn 11 needs a protective barrier, as Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz discovered from their own experience – costing them and their teams a lot of money.

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari were again fastest in qualifying, but again could not match Red Bull’s insane speed on the straights, with or without DRS, in the race. If they don’t reduce drag and fix this problem, Red Bull will win the title this year.

Another impressive and very mature race for Verstappen and Leclerc, but the Ferrari drivers can no longer attack and take the lead like Leclerc did with Verstappen in Bahrain. This gives Max and his teammate Sergio Perez the opportunity to save tires, knowing that the risk of losing position is small.

For Carlos Sainz, the weekend boosted confidence in his abilities as both Ferrari drivers took the podium for the third time in five races. In the previous two races he did not complete a single lap and in Miami he crashed the car during practice. However, Carlos kept his composure and managed to keep Pérez on fresh Medium tyres, albeit with loss of engine power.

Ferrari probably regrets that after the collision between Gasley and Norris on lap 40, given the inevitable departure of the safety car, they did not call at least one of their cars into the pits. Verstappen had just crossed the line when the VSC regime was announced.

Lando’s bad luck summed up a bad weekend for McLaren in Miami, where they weren’t as strong as at Imola. Norris retired, Ricciardo was penalized and dropped to 13th – this race at McLaren will soon make you want to forget.

Mercedes was again third of the best, but I think the weekend was very disturbing for them. George Russell was fastest on Friday and then lost speed – and the team didn’t know why the first and then the second happened. They have said before that cars have character, but the 2022 car is a real mystery to the team, it only performs well in a very limited number of settings and conditions. There’s a nice car in the W13 somewhere, but it’s well hidden there.

It’s easy to say Russell was lucky with the safety car, but he drove a long stretch on hard tires and didn’t despair when overtaken by drivers on fresher tyres. Sometimes you forge your own luck.

Lewis was again unlucky with the safety car and there was hesitation in his half of the pits, not the usual mastery of strategic decision-making that we have become accustomed to in recent years. At this difficult time, with the better part of his career ahead of him, George seems to be handling the situation better than Lewis, according to radio communications.

If the Mercedes car matched the speed of Ferrari and Red Bull, it would be safe to say Mercedes has the strongest lineup in current Formula 1.

Fernando Alonso had an awkward race, took part in several incidents, was fined both for them and for leaving the track and finished outside the top ten. This year he is traditionally fast but has only earned two points in five previous races.