JORDAN WINS MIAMI GP IN RAIN MASTERCLASS AS TITLE FIGHT TIGHTENS FURTHER...
The podium trio of Jordan, Mejg, and Justin told only part of the story, as this race was defined by survival, patience, and tire calls in conditions that lasted far longer than expected. Heavy rain dominated the opening 45 laps, splitting the field between those gambling on full wets and those committing to intermediates.
Justin had set the tone early with pole in the VisaRB, narrowly ahead of Rankupwithme, who was running a rapid Red Bull while standing in for Tvoje. But once the race began, raw pace gave way to strategic endurance. Jordan emerged as the key figure, committing to a long intermediate stint and stretching it perfectly as the track slowly transitioned toward dry conditions.
That same thinking was mirrored by Rollie, who pushed his inters to an incredible 43 laps, flirting with 90 percent wear and constant puncture risk. His race, however, was far from straightforward. The opening phase saw him stuck behind NaeDangerDavid’s Kick Sauber, unable to pass until NaeDanger opted for a second set of inters. Later, a safety car in the final 10 laps reshuffled everything, and Neadanger found himself trapped behind his teammate Sir Ibbo on the restart, ultimately losing touch with the front group before retiring from contention.
Up front, the late safety car played directly into Jordan’s hands. Having already positioned himself well through strategy, he handled the restart cleanly and pulled just enough of a gap to stay ahead of Mejg and Justin, who remained close but unable to challenge before the finish.
Mejg secured second in the Haas with another strong and controlled performance, yet still looking for his first season win as the reigning champion. Justin had to settle for third despite leading early phases of the race. Behind them, Bobow struggled slightly with limited preparation, and after the safety car couldn’t stay within Justin’s DRS range, finishing fourth but still keeping himself right in the championship mix.
Bards showed strong pace in the wet with a higher downforce Alpine setup and came home sixth after yielding to Rollie once conditions dried. Keon added more solid points for Haas in seventh, continuing his consistent run and helping keep the team at the top of the standings.
Rothnz quietly brought the Aston Martin home in eighth, navigating the chaos well, just was unable to catch Safety Car queue.😆 He still showed his GOAT skills by setting the fastest lap and seeing the finish line though... Sir Ibbo once again fought to stay circulating longer than anyone else. Being lapped 6 times, he was ultimately classified as a DNF, bringing an awkward twist to his usual streak of being the “last driver alive” in spirit if not on paper.
Further down, Rankupwithme’s race ended in disappointment. After showing strong pace early in the Red Bull, contact on a fast turn with SV5 resulted in both drivers retiring, a costly outcome in a race where both had top-five potential. SV5’s Alpine weekend unraveled there as well.
Luca, stepping in for Mercedes duties, pushed hard to bring points for Yeshurrun but ultimately failed to finish, though his data gathering helped the team understand the drying phase better. Elche’s difficult run continued in the Red Bull, adding another DNF to his tally, while Selecta once again struggled to find pace in the Ferrari.
Energetic was forced to retire from the Aston Martin due to off-track circumstances at home, and Dunce’s race ended early as well, marking a double retirement for Ferrari. Crunchypancake was the first to call it quits, unable to cope with the extreme conditions in the McLaren.
With so many variables in play, Miami delivered one of the most demanding races of the season so far. Crucially, the championship fight tightened even further. Justin now holds a slim lead over Bobow, with Mejg closing in, and Jordan’s second win suddenly pulling him firmly into contention as well.
Jordan interview added later: "The race was strangely enough the most boring but also uniquely interesting race I’ve had the pleasure of winning. Fell away after a racing incident on lap 1 and just sat back since it’s near impossible to overtake in Spain.
Then when the SC came I knew the only chance I had to win from P5 was to massage the tyres all the way through 24 laps, which was 2 more than the recommended maximum in competitive. After 15 laps saving my delta was such that I was able to catch up with the leaders very quick, but was also being caught very quickly behind from the 2 stoppers, all the while still being unable to go 100% the whole race. This led to a very helpless but tense feeling of being chased down, and driving like Sainz in Singapore 24 to keep booboo away on the last lap😅"
