Happy Verstappen triumphs in sweltering Miami

World champion Max Verstappen resisted a late attack from series leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari to claim an accomplished victory for Red Bull in sweltering conditions at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.

In a physically exhausting race for the drivers and teams at the Miami International Autodrome, the 24-year-old Dutchman produced a mature performance to make the most of superior straight-line speed in a largely processional race until a late Safety Car intervention.

His second win in succession and third of the season enabled him to trim Leclerc’s advantage to 19 points in the drivers' championship. Leclerc has 104 and Verstappen 85. It was the 23rd win of the Dutchman’s career.

"It was an incredible Grand Prix, very physical as well, but I think we kept it exciting until the end," said Verstappen, interviewed by retired American driver Willy T. Ribbs after the race.

When Ribbs suggested he looked ready to "get into a boxing ring", Verstappen retorted: "I think I’ll stick to racing, but I appreciate boxing a lot. It felt a bit like that out there in terms of how we feel now.

"I’m incredibly happy with winning here in Miami and it was an incredible Sunday for us."

Leclerc said he felt that the Red Bull was clearly a faster car than his Ferrari in a hot and punishing race.

"It was such a difficult race, physically," said Leclerc. "We struggled quite a bit with the medium tyres, especially in the first stint, and was overtaken there. That made our race a bit more difficult from that moment onwards.

- 'Step up' - "On the hard tyre, we were very competitive and towards the end I thought I could get Max at one point, but today they had the advantage in terms of pace."

He said he hoped Ferrari would make a 'step up' with