Max Verstappen wins Miami Grand Prix; Third win this year

Max Verstappen took the checkered flag at the Miami Grand Prix. The two-time world champion started ninth, and managed to cross the finish line in first place after 57 laps on the street circuit.

"Starting from ninth place and then winning is quite satisfying," said Red Bull's two-time world champion. "It was a good race in which I had no problems."

The Dutch driver had already advanced to second place in his Red Bull car behind his teammate Sergio Pérez after fifteen laps. He took the lead shortly afterwards after the Mexican driver made a pit stop. Verstappen finally changed tires after 46 laps and rejoin led the track behind Pérez, but the difference was small and the superior Verstappen passed his teammate nine laps before the end and then drove to victory unchallenged.

It was Verstappen's third win this year and the 38th in his career. The Dutch driver strengthened his leading position in the championship series. He moved to 14 points ahead of Pérez.

Fernando Alonso turned in another great performance for Aston Martin to finish third on the podium for the fourth time this season. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) had a lousy start. He was caught behind Lando Norris (McLaren) and dropped from 15th to 20th and last place. De Vries then managed to gain a few more spots in the course and finished eighteenth.

Pérez made a flawless start from pole position and dived into the first corner ahead of Alonso. Verstappen had to let Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) pass and was briefly in tenth after the first lap. Three laps later, his choice for the hard tires proved to be the right one and he had already progressed to sixth place, passing both Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Kevin Magnussen (Haas F1) in one fluid maneuver.

After fifteen laps, George Russell (Mercedes), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Alonso (Aston Martin) were also struggling and the hunt for his teammate and title rival began.

On lap 21, Pérez entered the pit lane for his tire change and handed over first place to Verstappen, who continued unperturbed on the hard tires. The gap with Pérez then remained about 16 to 17 seconds, so that after 46 laps he could confidently switch to the medium tires. Once in the lead, he also drove the fastest lap of the race, which earned him a bonus point.

"Max had a great pace. He deserved to win," Pérez said after giving it his all and winding up in second despite starting in pole position. "It didn't work out well for me on the medium tires. I quickly got wear and tear, that tire was much worse than expected and actually screwed up my race," Pérez said

Verstappen deliberately opted for the strategy of continuing to drive on hard tires for as long as possible. "We had discussed it in advance and there was confidence in me that it turned out well. I was able to drive on the hard tires for a long time and that made all the difference. Yesterday I had some setbacks in qualifying, but today I stayed calm, the drivers in front of me could easily catch up one by one and only had a short fight with Sergio Pérez. We gave each other space and that was important too."

De Vries said of his poor start and finish, "It was my fault. Norris had a very good start and just passed me by. It happened in a split second, both my wheels blocked.” The Dutch driver spoke to ViaPlay after the race.

"Then you are at the back and you have to hope for a safety car so that you find the connection again. You don't close such gaps one, two, three. I couldn't do much after the first lap."