A running joke, visible in front of the cameras, is playing out between Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso this season. After Verstappen only qualified ninth for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, second-placed Alonso predicted – in a routine which would be laughable if it wasn’t so accurate – that the Red Bull would slingshot past him by lap 25. In similar circumstances three races back in Saudi Arabia, wily double world champion Alonso was near enough spot-on with the same prophecy.
Except this time, it didn’t take Verstappen that long. By lap 15, Verstappen had overtaken seven sitting ducks to reach the rear of team-mate Sergio Perez. Eking out the maximum performance in his set of hard tyres, the Dutchman was in prime position to overtake Perez by the time he pitted for mediums on lap 46. Two rounds of the circuit later, Verstappen stormed clear of Perez’s valiant defence to take a statement victory. That, plus the fastest lap, handed the championship leader a perfect 26point day.
His gap to Perez is now 14 points. Aston Martin’s Alonso, in third, is 44 points behind Verstappen – the closest challenger outside the Red Bull behemoth. But it is the Constructors’ Standings that really tell the tale of this one-sided bloodbath right now.
Red Bull, on 224 points out of a possible 235, are 122 points ahead of Aston Martin, a surprise success story. Mercedes and Ferrari – giants of Formula 1, the supposed title challengers – are 128 and 146 points behind Red Bull respectively. We have had just five grand prix weekends. Five.
This story is from the May 09, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the May 09, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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