![]() Sargeant soon had company on the list of pitters as McLaren boxed both Norris and Piastri in quick succession for a move to hard rubber, their alternative soft-shod approach lasting only a few laps in the hot and humid South Florida weather.Īt the front, Perez controlled the pace to edge away from Alonso and bring his advantage up to two seconds as the lap count neared double figures, while Sainz kept his Ferrari within the Aston Martin’s DRS window but could not get close enough to make a pass. Meanwhile, Verstappen was on the hunt from his midfield starting position, clearing Bottas for eighth, then latching onto the back of the squabbling Magnussen and Leclerc – spectacularly jumping both in one go down the main straight when all three drivers ran wheel-to-wheel.Īt this point, start replays showed De Vries locking up and tagging Norris under braking for Turn 1, an incident that was checked by the stewards before the panel opted against any further action. Sargeant was forced into an early pit stop from the back of the field after contact with Stroll, taking on a new front wing and swapping his medium tyres for hards, leaving him three quarters of a minute adrift of the car ahead and facing a lonely stint. Ocon was another to endure a poor opening lap, falling to 10th place behind Bottas and Verstappen, while Hamilton remained where he started in P13, getting squeezed between Hulkenberg and Albon, and expressing concerns over potential front wing damage. Perez reacted well at the start to give himself enough room to cut across the track and defend from Alonso and Sainz into Turn 1, while Magnussen got swamped and fell from fourth to sixth behind Gasly and Russell, before losing another position to Leclerc under braking for Turn 11. When that moment came amid dry but windy conditions, there were a mixture of starting tyres on show as the front-runners all opted for medium tyres, while Ocon, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Zhou, Tsunoda and Stroll went for on hards, and Norris and Piastri chose softs. With 10 laps remaining, Verstappen comfortably cleared Perez to move into a lead that he would not relinquish, meaning the Mexican had to settle for the runner-up spot and lose some of the ground he had made up in the title race.Ī dramatic qualifying session led to a mixed-up grid for Sunday’s race, with Perez landing pole position – when Leclerc’s crash red-flagged the top 10 shootout – and team mate Verstappen down in ninth due to a mistake on his first Q3 lap, and Hamilton back in 13th after a Q2 exit.Īlonso joined Perez on the front row, with Sainz third and Magnussen securing the Haas team’s best-ever starting position for a Grand Prix in fourth, as Gasly, Russell, Leclerc (despite his crash) and Ocon also slotted in ahead of Verstappen, who ended the final phase without a time.Īnother twist came post-qualifying thanks to the heavens opening and washing away plenty of rubber and grip from the 5.412km venue’s re-laid track surface, only adding to the challenge ahead of the 20 drivers during the second running of the Miami event.Īs the race approached, a special ceremony overseen by music icons will.i.am and LL Cool J fired up the capacity crowd, with every driver getting a moment in the Miami sun before strapping themselves into their cars and preparing for lights out. ![]() However, while Perez led the first half of the race on a medium-hard tyre strategy, Verstappen expertly stretched out his initial stint on hards to rise from P9 to P1 – via a series of fine moves – and he emerged just behind his team mate with a fresh set of mediums late on. ![]() Perez had slashed Verstappen’s championship advantage to just six points with a Sprint and Grand Prix double last time out in Azerbaijan, and a topsy-turvy qualifying session at the Miami International Autodrome gave him a golden opportunity to move to the top of the standings. Max Verstappen struck back in the 2023 title race by beating Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez to victory during Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, recovering from ninth on the grid and passing the pole-sitter in the closing stages of an intriguing, strategic race. ![]()
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