Verstappen won the inaugural Miami race, Leclerc was the circuit’s maiden polesitter and Bottas impressed on his first appearance here in 2022. Here’s everything you need to know about each driver’s history at the Miami Grand Prix!
🇳🇱 Max VERSTAPPEN
Max Verstappen won the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. His win came despite a far from ideal start to his weekend. The Red Bull driver complained of heavy steering in Free Practice 2 and subsequently sat out the rest of the Friday afternoon session. He returned to the track for Free Practice 3, where he was lucky to avoid contact with the barriers following a spin.
Verstappen made a mistake on his final qualifying lap and lined up third on the grid. By the tenth lap of the race, Verstappen had overtaken Charles Leclerc for the lead of the race. He went on to win, becoming the first driver to win a World Championship F1 race in Florida since Bruce McLaren at the 1959 United States Grand Prix.
🇲🇽 Sergio PEREZ
Sergio Perez spent the majority of last year’s Miami Grand Prix chasing after Carlos Sainz. His efforts were ultimately fruitless, despite some bold overtaking attempts. After qualifying in fourth place – just half a tenth slower than his team-mate – Perez finished the race in the same position as he started.
🇲🇨 Charles LECLERC
Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver in the first ever on-track session at the Miami Grand Prix. He also had the pace on Saturday, becoming Miami International Autodrome’s first polesitter. Leclerc was powerless to stop Max Verstappen passing him in the early stages of the Grand Prix and finished the race as runner-up.
🇪🇸 Carlos SAINZ
Carlos Sainz had a troubled Friday at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix. After picking up a puncture as the result of a spin in Free Practice 1, he crashed out in Free Practice 2. Sainz recovered well to qualify on the front row, behind his team-mate. His fastest lap was just 0.005 seconds faster than Max Verstappen’s fastest effort.
In the race, Sainz was overtaken by Verstappen at the start and came under pressure from the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez. Despite a slow pit stop and Perez’s best attempts to overtake, Sainz was able to stay ahead and pick up a podium finish.
🇬🇧 Lewis HAMILTON
Lewis Hamilton out-qualified George Russell at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, but qualified behind former team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Starting sixth, Hamilton lost two positions at the start of the race and made light contact with Fernando Alonso. He soon made the positions back up. In the closing stages, Hamilton passed Bottas for fifth place following a mistake for the Alfa Romeo driver but was then passed by Russell, meaning he finished in the same position as he started.
🇬🇧 George RUSSELL
George Russell was the fastest driver on Friday at the Miami Grand Prix but was far off the pace on Saturday. He was eliminated in Q2, qualifying in 12th place. He then lost positions at the start of the Grand Prix, dropping to 16th. He made up a number of positions through others pitting and a conveniently-timed Virtual Safety Car period. In the later stages of the race, Russell passed Valtteri Bottas and team-mate Lewis Hamilton to finish in fifth place.
🇫🇷 Esteban OCON
Esteban Ocon failed to set a lap time in qualifying for the 2022 Miami Grand Prix following a heavy crash in final practice. Starting from the back of the grid (18th in the order, thanks to pit lane starts for the Aston Martin drivers), Ocon made quick work of passing Nicholas Latifi, but his Williams team-mate Alex Albon was harder to overtake.
By the time of his pit stop, Ocon was running in eighth place. He took advantage of pitting under a caution period, meaning he lost only two positions as a result of his stop. The Frenchman was lucky to gain two positions in the closing stages, finishing eighth as a result of a collision between Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
🇫🇷 Pierre GASLY
Pierre Gasly secured one of his best qualifying results of the 2022 season with seventh place at the Miami Grand Prix. Gasly made up a place at the start, passing Hamilton for sixth place – though he was soon re-passed by the Mercedes driver.
Gasly had a wide moment later on in the race and made contact with Lando Norris when rejoining the track. The contact ended both drivers’ races, with Gasly retiring as a result of suspension damage.
🇬🇧 Lando NORRIS
Lando Norris’ first appearance at the Miami Grand Prix ended in disappointment as he retired from the race following a collision with Pierre Gasly. He had qualified in eighth place for the race, out-qualifying his team-mate.
🇦🇺 Oscar PIASTRI
This will be Oscar Piastri’s first outing at Miami International Autodrome.
🇫🇮 Valtteri BOTTAS
Valtteri Bottas was one of the stars of the 2022 Miami Grand Prix weekend. After a crash in Dree Practice 1, Bottas missed the rest of the on-track action on Friday. When he returned to the track on Saturday, he was able to qualify in an impressive fifth place.
The Alfa Romeo driver held position throughout the opening stages of the race and was running in the same position following the final Safety Car period. However, the Finn made a mistake at Turn 17, allowing both Mercedes drivers to pass him as he ran wide. He finished the race in seventh place.
🇨🇳 ZHOU Guanyu
Zhou Guanyu was eliminated in Q1 at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix after getting caught up in traffic on his final lap in the session. Starting from 17th, Zhou had a short Sunday afternoon. He retired from the race on Lap 6.
🇪🇸 Fernando ALONSO
Fernando Alonso qualified in 11th place with Alpine at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, narrowly missing out on the top ten shootout. Alonso spent the majority of the race stuck behind Pierre Gasly, with whom he made contact at Turn 1 and picked up a five second time penalty. He finished eighth on track but a further five second time penalty for cutting the chicane and gaining an advantage saw him drop to 11th in the final order.
🇨🇦 Lance STROLL
Lance Stroll reached Q3 at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, qualifying in ninth place. However, his hard work on Saturday was undone on Sunday as he was forced to start from the pit lane due to fuel legality concerns for both Aston Martin drivers.
From the pit lane, Stroll gained positions throughout the race, despite making contact twice with Kevin Magnussen and being shown the black and white flag for weaving. The Canadian finished 12th on the road but picked up a solitary point following penalties for both Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo.
🇩🇰 Kevin MAGNUSSEN
Struggling with a lack of radio communication in qualifying, Kevin Magnussen failed to progress past Q1 at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix. He qualified in 16th place for the race and started 14th after both Aston Martins were moved to the pit lane. He passed three drivers ahead of his first stop and then moved up to tenth before opting to make a second stop.
Later in the race, the Dane picked up front wing damage after contact with Lance Stroll, for which he received a five-second time penalty. Magnussen failed to reach the chequered flag, pulling into the pits two laps from the end of the race.
🇩🇪 Nico HULKENBERG
Nico Hulkenberg has never previous raced at Miami International Autodrome.
🇯🇵 Yuki TSUNODA
Yuki Tsunoda reached Q3 at last year’s Miami Grand Prix, qualifying two positions behind his AlphaTauri team-mate. Tsunoda lost a position to Fernando Alonso at the start of the race and lost more place through the race, eventually finishing in 12th place.
🇳🇱 Nyck DE VRIES
This will be Nyck de Vries’ first appearance at Miami International Autodrome.
🇹🇭 Alex ALBON
Despite promising pace in practice, Alex Albon qualified only 18th for the 2022 Miami Grand Prix. He was one of the drivers to gain the most positions in the race, finishing in ninth place and scoring rare points for Williams in 2022.
🇺🇸 Logan SARGEANT
This will be Logan Sargeant’s first time racing at Miami International Autodrome. Sargeant becomes the first American driver to race on home soil in Formula 1 since Alexander Rossi at the 2015 United States Grand Prix.
