Verstappen claims inaugural Miami Grand Prix for 3rd victory of season
Max Verstappen used an aggressive early pass on Formula One championship leader Charles Leclerc then controlled the inaugural Miami Grand Prix for his third victory of the season on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The reigning world champion started third Sunday, but Red Bull quickly got the best of Ferrari for a second consecutive race. Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. had locked out the front row in qualifying for Ferrari, but Verstappen pounced at the start to get ahead of Sainz.
He then set his sights on Leclerc and used a strong outside pass on the ninth lap to claim the lead. Verstappen went unchallenged until a late crash between Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly brought out the safety car and setup a 10-lap sprint to the finish on the 19-turn, 3.36-mile circuit (5.41 kilometres) built around Hard Rock Stadium.
In Miami, Ferrari settled for second and third for Leclerc and Sainz. Perez was fourth for Red Bull and Mercedes showed much improvement with a fifth and sixth place finish for George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. It's the fourth time in five races that first-year Mercedes driver Russell has beaten the seven-time champion.
Montreal's Lance Stroll was 12th and Toronto's Nicholas Latifi was 14th.
First winner in Miami! <br><br>