Fernando Alonso returns to the podium in Miami with another Verstappen recital

Carlos Sainz finishes fifth in a race without a chicha

The Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the Miami Grand Prix this Sunday, the fifth round of the World Cup, ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez and the Spanish Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who added his fourth podium of the season.

Verstappen started ninth but came back with authority to his third victory of the year, to consolidate his overall lead over 'Checo' Pérez. Red Bull again had no rival, but the closest was once again an Alonso who achieved his fourth third place, recovering the streak he lost in Baku. Meanwhile, the also Spanish Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) was fifth.

The Florida layout left the race with the least amount of energy of the season, although Verstappen's progression was a recital. The current double world champion opted for the hard tire and it turned out well, because he endured everything he wanted and more until he was first. Miami ended without accidents, without a safety car or hardly any errors, nor a yellow flag, with which the script was fulfilled with some disappointment from Ferrari and Mercedes.

At the start, Pérez, Alonso and Carlos Sainz respected each other, and kept their positions until they saw 'Mad Max' appear. The moment of the stop arrived, perhaps another point to give emotion that was not decisive either since the teams worked well. All in all, Carlos Sainz carried a five-second penalty for entering too fast, although in the end it did not prevent him from being fifth.

The Ferraris did not give up despite being a race in procession, with Charles Leclerc seventh, while the Mercedes did not give up either, culminating another week in which pessimism about their options in the World Cup grew. George Russell was fourth and Lewis Hamilton, sixth without being able to aspire to more.

Apart from the Red Bulls, Alonso kept the rest at bay. The double world champion gave an account of Sainz and after Russell, to confirm himself as the third best driver of the year, returning to the podium after his streak in the first three races. The Asturian adds 75 points, squeezing his Aston Martin, for Pérez's 105 and Verstappen's 119, the step that remains to be seen if they can shorten.