{"id":280209,"date":"2025-04-12T07:51:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T07:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/12\/max-verstappens-tyre-gamble-pays-off-with-miami-win\/"},"modified":"2025-04-12T07:51:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T07:51:45","slug":"max-verstappens-tyre-gamble-pays-off-with-miami-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/12\/max-verstappens-tyre-gamble-pays-off-with-miami-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen\u2019s tyre gamble pays off with Miami win"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Max<\/div>


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Max Verstappen produced a tyre management masterclass to outwit Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez and win the Formula One Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, reaffirming his status as the man to beat for the drivers championship.<\/p>\n

As the reigning double world champion on F1\u2019s dominant team, Verstappen had already been installed as the favourite but coming into Miami all the indicators were trending in his team mate\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n

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Perez was riding the momentum from a win in Baku and is regarded as an expert on street circuits and tyre management, both factors that would come into play on the 5.41km temporary track around Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the NFL\u2019s Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n

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But in the end it was Verstappen who made all the right calls \u2013 from tyre selection to race strategy.<\/p>\n

Starting ninth on the grid, the 25-year-old Dutchman ripped through the pack and was on pole-sitter Perez\u2019s exhaust before the race had reached the midway point.<\/p>\n

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Simply\u2026 lovely! <\/p>\n

What a great win today! A very strong race \ud83d\ude4c <\/p>\n

The car felt really good and the strategy paid off perfectly @redbullracing<\/a> \ud83d\udc4f This is a fantastic 1-2 team result again, let\u2019s keep this going \ud83d\udcaa<\/p>\n

Thank you, Miami \u2013 You have\u00a0been\u00a0great\ud83c\udf34 pic.twitter.com\/FdTdxeMITR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) May 7, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Perez, who started on medium tyres, pitted first, giving Verstappen an extended run at the front where he squeezed everything he could from his hard tyres before finally stopping for a change with just 11 laps to go.<\/p>\n

The stop handed the lead back to his Mexican team mate, but not for long. On fresher tyres, Verstappen was immediately on the prowl and two laps later he was in front of Perez again.<\/p>\n

From there it was business as usual, the two Red Bulls easing through the final laps unchallenged for another one-two.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is something I wanted already yesterday together with my engineer,\u201d Verstappen said of his tyre selection. \u201cWe were quite strongly opinionated on that already.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you have to discuss with the team, with the team\u2019s interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were like, \u2018Okay.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when you start on the hard, the risk is a bit higher because we only had one (set).<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if you have a \u2026 puncture or whatever, then your race is a bit tougher.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I was happy to take that gamble.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that race simulations were against the hard compound but Verstappen and his engineers and strategist wanted to roll the dice.<\/p>\n

\u201cMax starting on the hard tyre, there was more risk with that,\u201d said Horner.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur simulations were telling us it\u2019s actually a worse race but where it potentially gained was if there was a safety car later in the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo his engineering team wanted to take that chance and he made it work without the safety car.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n