Verstappen made a mistake on his first Q3 run in qualifying and was unable to finish a second attempt when Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed out, bringing out the red flag.
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After crossing the finish line in first place at the Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen could not contain his excitement. He credited his lengthy first stint on hard tyres and the pace he kept for the victory over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. Verstappen made a mistake on his first Q3 run in qualifying and was unable to finish a second attempt when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed out, bringing out the red flag. Verstappen began the race on the fifth row of the grid.
Verstappen, however, easily passed the vehicles in front of him on race day and, by Lap 15 of 57, was running second to Perez, who had qualified in pole position and was wearing medium tyres. Verstappen extended his first stint after Perez pitted on lap 21 to switch to hard tyres and finally made his required stop 25 laps later, rejoining just behind his teammate and on much fresher medium rubber. Verstappen passed Perez relatively easily in the final 10 laps and then pulled away on the final lap to win by more than five seconds and increase his championship lead to 14 points.
“It was a good race. I stayed out of trouble at the beginning and then just had a clean race, picked the cars off one by one. Then I could stay out really long on the hard tyres and that’s where I think we made the difference today,” the reigning world champion said. “I had a good little battle with Checo at the end. We kept it clean and that’s the most important [thing] – it’s a great win today. Yesterday was of course a bit of a setback. Today we just kept it calm, kept it clean, and for sure, winning a race from P9 is always very satisfying.”
In the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, Max Verstappen defeated Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to win. After qualifying ninth, Verstappen overtook the pole-sitter in the closing laps to reclaim the 2023 championship lead. Perez had cut Verstappen’s lead in the championship to just six points with a Sprint and Grand Prix double in Azerbaijan last time out, and a wild qualifying session at the Miami International Autodrome gave him a great chance to overtake Verstappen.
Verstappen, on the other hand, skillfully extended his initial stint on hards to rise from P9 to P1 through a series of fine moves, and he eventually emerged just behind his teammate with a fresh set of mediums late in the race. Perez, on the other hand, led the first half of the race on a medium-hard tyre strategy. Verstappen easily passed Perez with 10 laps left to take the lead, and he would not give it up. As a result, Perez was forced to settle for second place and lost some of the ground he had gained in the title race.
