‘Checo’ aims to lead at Miami GP

Born 33 years ago in Guadalajara (Jalisco), ‘Checo’ signed a contract in Baku – knocking his partner Dutch Max Verstappen down to second place – his sixth victory since racing in F1: second on this track (after 2021) and the second of the course, after it was imposed in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). The Mexican, who won the first of all six sprint tests scheduled for Saturday this year, is still runner-up at the World Championships, but now only six points behind the leaderDutch counterpart.

Yes A Mexican could be the leader of the World Cup It was a question that was very unlikely to be asked just a few years ago. But now I don’t know. And it’s not crazy to think that Mexico could celebrate an F1 world champion; as proved once again on the shores of the Caspian Sea last Sunday: the talent of Sergio Pérez meets the performance of the almost unrivaled RB23.

They shared victories in the first four races of the season with the best car on the grid, ‘Mad Max’, and the intrepid Guadalajara driver celebrating five of his six victories on city tracks. And on the first track that Verstappen won and finished fourth last year, If ‘Checo’ wins in Miami on Sunday, he will become the new leader of the World Cup. where it will receive the support of a large number of citizens.

There are other combinations, but even if he apparently didn’t take the lead in Florida at the start of the season, the daring driver from Guadalajara made him a serious contender to win the competition. Still, he has one problem that hasn’t gone unnoticed: his 25-year-old partner, who is aiming for a third championship in a row.

‘Mad Max’ starring with 93 pointsSix more than ‘Checo’ and with over 33 alone, third in the World Cup. In a Formula 1 where Spanish is increasingly spoken and far from expected at the start of the course, the man from Madrid Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) fifth.

After taking the podium in the first three races of the year (Bahrain, Arabia and Australia) and increasing the number of ‘drawers’ in F1 to 101, Alonso finished fourth with Aston Martin after another sensational performance. the capital of the former Soviet republic; Saturday’s sprint finished sixth.

Asturian double world champion proved himself in the championship’s unique cheerleaders and versatile grand leader aston martin, a team occupying second place in the Builders World Championship with 87 points from having the seventh car on the grid; Currently 93 less than the indisputable Red Bull; He said he had signed three “doubles” in the first four races of the course and if things kept going like this, he would settle the Drivers’ Championship in an internal duel.

However 19 races left until the end of the year, at the end of November and in Abu Dhabi. So Alonso and Aston Martin – and eager to evolve Mercedes and Ferrari – will be at the forefront; waiting for the mistakes of the red bulls that are too dominant.

Currently on the designed track around Hard Rock Stadium, where the Miami Dolphins, a team from the amazing professional American football league NFL, play at home. A 5,412-metre course – with 19 bends, twelve to the left – has been re-paved and abrasive; with three DRS zones; very high top speeds will be reached; and tire management at very high temperatures will be decisive.

Sainz, who left Azerbaijan unsatisfied, finished fifth in the tournament. with 34 points; 14 less than the seven-time world champion Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and by six against partner Monegasque charles leclerc; He’s the nineteenth ‘pole’ shot in F1 in Baku and the first in the sprint on Saturday. Before finishing, third in both cases: behind Red Bull.

Hailing from the beautiful principality of the Côte d’Azur, the driver achieved the first podium of the year for Ferrari in Azerbaijan, the most successful team in history but not exceeding fourth place in the Builders World Championship with 62 points. 118 from Red Bull and fourteen from Mercedes; After marking the milestone of winning the team competition eight years in a row, he was dethroned by the energy drink team last season and is now third, eleven points behind Aston Martin.

With one F1 victory and fifteen podiums, Carlos will look for better fortune this weekend in Florida, where he finished third behind Verstappen and Leclerc last year.

in Miami will be towed with tires in the range of intermediate compounds: C2 -hard, recognizable by white stripe-, C3 -medium, yellow stripe- and C4 -soft, red-.

After the new format launched in Baku, consisting of two qualifiers and two races, short and long, which will be used five more times this season, free practice for a weekend will begin this Friday in very hot Miami in the usual configuration.

Rehearsals will be completed on Saturday.hours before qualification, Who will order the starting lineup for the physically demanding Sunday race: 57 laps are planned to complete the 308.3 kilometer route.