MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) – Max Verstappen won the Miami Grand Prix from ninth on the starting grid with a masterful display of tire management on Sunday to extend his Formula One championship lead over Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez.
Red Bull’s fourth one-two finish in five races dealt a blow to Mexican Perez’s hopes of wresting the overall lead from the double world champion in Miami after securing pole position on Saturday.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished a distant third, for the fourth time this season, after starting on the front row.
Verstappen, six points clear of Perez at the start of the day, is now 14 ahead of him in the championship standings, on 119. Alonso is third on 75.
It was Verstappen’s 38th career win tying him with Sebastian Vettel for most victories for Red Bull.
“To be honest with you today, I think with the pace he (Verstappen) had it wouldn’t have mattered if he’d started on the soft, the medium or the hard tire,” offered Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. “It made it an interesting race because he had to manage that tire early on but his pace as it has been all weekend has been just outstanding.”
Verstappen, winner of last year’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix, suffered a setback in qualifying when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed and denied the Dutchman a final flying lap that almost certainly would have put him on pole after he dominated the practice sessions.
But he was immediately on the charge, moving up into fourth after 10 laps.
