Max Verstappen sealed his 38th F1 Grand Prix win at the 2023 Miami GP. The driver decided to cool off after a truly marvelous drive by spending time with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet and her daughter Penelope at Miami Beach.
The 2x world champion happened to run into American karting driver Josh Bergman who was celebrating one of his brother’s 21st birthday. The Dutchman decided to join the celebrations taking pictures with the youngster.
Not just Verstappen, Piquet and her daughter joined the celebrations too. The youngster shared snippets of their party with a caption, “Today was a really special day. It was my brother’s 21st birthday and I got to hang out with Max Verstappen!” Surely nothing gets better than celebrating your birthday with an F1 world champion.
Max Verstappen wins in Miami after tire gamble pays off dividends
The chance to win in Miami was looking bleak for Max Verstappen after a poor qualifying. The Dutchman managed to secure a P9 start while his teammate Sergio Perez bagged the pole position.
However, the Dutchman took a gamble with tire strategy going into the race. He chose to start on the hard sets while Perez opted for mediums. The strategy proved right for the 2x champion as he went through the entire grid and won the race.
The Mexican driver pitted in lap 21, gifting Verstappen the lead. However, the Dutchman managed to preserve his set, until 11 laps to go where he finally pitted for a fresh set of mediums. He eventually overtook Perez on lap 47 and proceeded to win the race.
Verstappen praises Red Bull for Miami GP strategy
Max Verstappen was pleased to win after a setback in Baku the previous weekend. A faulty pitstop call caused the Dutchman to lose the race to his teammate Sergio Perez. Hence Red Bull needed to get their strategy right in Miami.
However, the 2x champion was impressed with his team’s calls after a 9th-place start. He said after the race to Sky Sports, “It was a good race. I stayed out of trouble at the beginning, had a clean race, picked off the cars one by one and I could stay out really long on the hard tyre.
Ultimately the call to start on Hards was crucial for winning the race. He added, “I think that’s where we made the difference today and then a good little battle with Checo at the end.”
With the win in Miami, Verstappen has extended his lead in the championship standings. The Dutchman leads by 15 points ahead of his teammate Perez.
