Serial winner Max Verstappen also won the second Formula 1 sprint race of the season. The Red Bull driver relegated his Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc to second place in Miami on Saturday despite some problems with his car. Verstappen’s stablemate Sergio Perez came third.
Verstappen thus further expanded his lead in the World Cup standings. He is already clearly in the lead there after four victories in five Grand Prix, and the 26-year-old also recently won the first sprint of the year in Shanghai.
Early safety car phase
The safety car had to go onto the track shortly after the start. A hard maneuver by Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes triggered a chain reaction, with Fernando Alonso sliding his Aston Martin into the car of his teammate Lance Stroll. The Canadian, in turn, cleared Lando Norris from the track and the Briton’s McLaren could no longer continue. The race management viewed the event as a normal accident and waived penalties.
Legend: Max Verstappen is in a class of his own again. Getty Images/Rudy Carezzevoli
Verstappen struggles with the car
Verstappen again confidently won the restart. At first Leclerc was able to follow the Dutchman, but towards the middle of the race Verstappen gained a small cushion. Nevertheless, the defending champion complained about his car like the day before: “It’s just terrible, I have no grip at the back.”
Nothing new at Sauber
The drivers of Team Sauber had no chance in the fight for championship points, which are awarded to the top eight in the sprint. As expected, starting positions 17 for Guanyu Zhou and 19 for Valtteri Bottas were too big of a handicap. The Chinese remained in 13th place, the Finn in 16th place.
Bottas started the race from last place on the grid after a subsequent move back. The Finn was prosecuted for impeding Australian Oscar Piastri in qualifying.