An exciting weekend is ahead of us as we head over to the United States of America for the Miami GP with the city hosting its second GP ever.
After a rather calm weekend at Baku last week, fans have been left wanting more and are expecting Miami to deliver. Being a track designed to allow for more overtakes and exciting on-track battles, we are sure to witness more drama and excitement this weekend. Will we see Sergio Perez challenge Max Verstappen for the title? And will Ferrari keep their momentum going and perhaps claim another podium finish? UK bookmaker William Hill has the latest odds!
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 3rd, 4:00 A.M. (EST)
The current odds confirm what most fans questioned after Baku. Will Sergio Perez challenge Max Verstappen for the F1 title in 2023? Purely looking at the odds, we see a significant change in Perez’s chances of winning the race going from 6.00 at Baku to just 3.75 for the Miami GP. It would seem as if the bookmakers themselves see Perez as the driver that has what it takes to end Verstappen’s dominance and prove he is not Red Bull’s second driver.
The remaining odds remain largely unchanged with the next favourites to win the Miami GP being Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso with his ever masterful performances in every race weekend so far.
The Circuit
The circuit for this weekend’s race is the Miami International Autodrome. A 5.412 km long track featuring 57 laps, 3 DRS zones, 3 straights and 19 high-speed corners. An important highlight for this weekend’s track is DRS zone 2 where speeds reach a staggering 340 km/h (Charles Leclerc in 2022).
Another feature specific for this track are the elevation changes between Turns 13 and 16 challenging the driver’s physical prowess and skill. Since it was only introduced to the F1 calendar in 2022, the sole winner at this track and lap record holder is Max Verstappen with a time of 1.31.361.
What to Expect?
The race weekend at Baku left much to be desired. Having spent around 40 laps (out of 51) driving in a DRS train, fans weren’t exactly on the edge of their seats and bursting with excitement. Miami is set to rectify that.
Even Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff claimed: “It was not a thriller, no overtaking, even with a big pace difference, made it not great entertainment. Even if you are within 0.2secs, it is nearly impossible to overtake unless the other driver makes a mistake.”
However, Toto Wolff claimed it was not the new regulations that made the race boring. Rather, some aspects of track layout may be to blame and F1 bosses need to revisit the issues of Baku in order to avoid “boring” races.
On a more positive note, the title race in the Drivers Championship got a new twist with Sergio Perez now within reach of that coveted No. 1 position having won the Azerbaijan GP. This proved two things. First, Max Verstappen is not unbeatable. Perez proved this last weekend by matching the Dutchman’s pace and even surpassing him on certain parts of the track.
Second, Red Bull doesn’t seem to have a favourite driver at this point in the championship. It would seem as if Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, is happy to allow their drivers to race as long as they bring points for the team and secure the 2023 Constructors title. This opens so many possibilities for exciting races and perhaps even a direct on-track battle between the two Red Bull drivers. The bookmakers seem to share this view as Perez’s odds for winning the next race are much better than before!
