(Motorsport news) Reigning champion Max Verstappen won the inaugural Miami Grand Prix after holding off the two Ferrari’s despite Leclerc’s late attempt to retake the lead. Having finished third in qualifying, the Dutch racing driver impressively overtook Carlos Sainz in the very first corner of the first lap and overtook race leader Charles Leclerc in lap 7. However, a late safety car due to Lando Norris’ crash resulted in a nervy ending but Ferrari’s Monegasque driver was unable to get ahead of Verstappen despite closing the lead. The result means that Leclerc’s lead is now just 19 points, despite Verstappen having two DNF’s this season.

Carlos Sainz desperately needed a positive result, having endured a difficult few races and managed to fend off Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to finish third. Perez was plagued by a lack of power due to an engine issue and had an unfortunate lock up when trying to overtake Sainz towards the end of the race. As for Mercedes, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth, with the 24 year old finishing ahead of the seven time World Champion for the fourth race in a row. Russell, who started in 12th place should be happy with the result, getting ahead of Hamilton twice due to fresher tyres and finally overtook the 37 year old with three laps to go in the race.

Former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas finished 7th after being subjected to intense pressure by the Silver Arrows, ultimately resulting in the Finn running wide and hitting the concrete. One of the biggest talking points of the race was in lap 40 when Norris had a frightening crash after colliding with Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman’s left front tyre caught the McLaren’s rear right, resulting in Norris’s car spinning on the track. The collision meant that both the cars were forced to retire while Fernando Alonso was handed a five second penalty due to an earlier collision with Gasly, resulting in the Spaniard finishing 11th and out of the points zone. The penalties and DNF’s meant that Esteban Ocon was promoted to eighth while Alex Albon was ninth and Lance Stroll finished 10th. Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher also collided at Turn 1 resulting in DNF’s for the pair.

Miami GP results: Top 10

1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
5) George Russell, Mercedes
6) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
7) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
8) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
9) Alex Albon, Williams
10) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

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