2023 MIAMI GP

RED BULL RB19 STARTED 9th

There were 42 tours remaining of a 57-lap contest when Verstappen reached second place behind team-mate Sergio Perez, after starting down in ninth. He was there thanks to Charles Leclerc’s Q3 crash ensuring those drivers who had messed up their opening efforts in the final qualifying segment – such as Verstappen – couldn’t improve. Perez secured pole, and it looked like his race to lose.

That was because five races into 2023, it was clear how much of a performance advantage the Red Bull RB19 had over its rivals. That explained why few opted to fight Verstappen hard as he sliced through the field on his rapid rise – his double pass on Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen was nevertheless a highlight.

Verstappen had bought into Red Bull’s idea of running a contra-one-stop strategy. He started on the hard tyres and went deep into the race, with Perez unable to do so from pole due to the risk of an early safety car ruining such an approach. The fact that there wasn’t one boosted Verstappen, but really it was his brilliance and Perez’s comparative weakness that made the difference.

Perez was too conservative out front in the early laps, and so barely had a four-second lead by the time Verstappen arrived in second place. Then when Perez was on the hards, Verstappen reversed the gains the Mexican had made. Therefore, when Verstappen did finally come in on lap 45, his ensuing Turn 1 pass on Perez was a formality – there was just 1.6s between them when the world champion rejoined.

The win came with a big psychological impact, boosting Verstappen’s season and cracking Perez’s confidence. Next up in Monaco, Perez crashed in qualifying and then failed to reach Q3 in the five following non-sprint sessions against the clock. This defeat really did for Perez’s 2023 title hopes as much as victory enhanced Verstappen’s own.