Max Verstappen has driven from ninth on the grid to take victory over teammate Sergio Perez in this morning’s Miami Grand Prix.
A relatively tame race ultimately came down to strategy, Verstappen and Perez putting in a commanding performance for a Red Bull one-two with Fernando Alonso some time down the road for his fourth podium of the season.
Tyre choice and strategy won the Grand Prix for the two-time defending champion, Verstappen starting on Hards while Perez started off pole on Mediums. The Mexican boxed on Lap 20 to switch to Hards while Verstappen remained out before coming in over 20 laps later to switch to Mediums.
The softer and much fresher compound worked wonders for the eventual winner, who was able to quickly overturn a 1.5-second deficit after his stop to quickly work past his teammate to take the race win by over 5 seconds.
Alonso was highly deserving of his P3, running a clean and calm race to cement his spot in third in the Drivers Championship as the best of the rest.
George Russell also drove cleanly, making steady progress to finish fourth, one spot ahead of Carlos Sainz, whose 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane didn’t matter due to Lewis Hamilton coming in home 8 seconds back.
Sixth for the seven-time champion was a fair result, reward for a charge from 13th on the grid following a challenging qualifying session.
Charles Leclerc was seventh home, recovering from early-pace struggles to work his way back into contention with the top 10. Alpine finished with both drivers in the points, Pierre Gasly topping Esteban Ocon for eighth and ninth, respectively.
Kevin Magnussen was the final point-scorer, holding firm for tenth after dropping from his out-of-place fourth on the grid.
Troubles continued for McLaren, Williams, Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri, who all failed to score points, with Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg also finishing outside the top 10.
All 20 cars were able to finish, the only incident of note coming at Turn 1 on Lap 1 when Nyck De Vries locked up and went straight into the back of a fast-starting Lando Norris, punting the McLaren into the runoff but seeing him safely rejoin with a loss of several spots.
Logan Sargeant will also be left with a bitter taste at his home Grand Prix, finishing plum last after requiring a front wing change on the first laps.
Formula 1 returns in two weeks, heading back to Europe for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
Image: Getty Images
