Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the World Drivers' Championship with 93 points, 6 points ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez in second, and 33 ahead of Fernando Alonso in third. Red Bull Racing, with 180 points, led the Constructors' Championship from Aston Martin and Mercedes, who were second and third with 87 and 76 points, respectively.[5]
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.[7]
Track changes
The first and second DRS activation points were moved 75 metres (246 ft) farther ahead, being positioned 105 metres (344 ft) after turn 9 and 525 metres (1,722 ft) after turn 16, respectively.[8]
The race was held on May 7, 2023, at 15:30 local time (UTC−4).[2]
Race report
The starting grid lined up at the 2023 Miami Grand Prix, with Sergio Pérez on pole.
Polesitter Sergio Pérez kept the lead going into the first turn; his teammate Max Verstappen, who started in ninth, lost a position as both he and Esteban Ocon were passed by Valtteri Bottas, but regained it going into turn twelve (got past Ocon with Bottas maintaining 8th). Meanwhile, Nyck de Vries's car locked up, going into the rear of Lando Norris' McLaren, and Lewis Hamilton was caught behind Nico Hülkenberg. Norris and De Vries found themselves at the back of the grid, Norris seventeenth and De Vries eighteenth. Logan Sargeant went into the pit lane on lap two to swap his front wing, switching his medium tyres to a hard compound in the process. Norris, who started the race on the soft compound, followed suit; Oscar Piastri also did so by lap five. Charles Leclerc tried to pass the Haas of Kevin Magnussen for seventh, but he went wide at turn one. His teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. locked up going into the pit lane, coming out in seventh place; he was given a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. His final finishing position was not affected. Having locked up in the pit lane the lap prior, Sainz then locked up again at turn one while trying to pass Hülkenberg. With Fernando Alonso going into pit lane soon after Sainz had stopped, he exited in fifth and passed both Sainz and Ocon.
Verstappen made his way up the field, starting with the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas. He soon found himself behind Leclerc and Magnussen, passing both for sixth. He then passed George Russell, Pierre Gasly, Sainz, and Alonso. Verstappen slowly made his way up to Pérez and he passed his teammate during the closing stages of the race. He won the race, with Pérez and Alonso making up the final two places on the podium, respectively.[14]
Max Verstappen
