Grand Prix in Miami

LIVE from 6pm: Who will win the Miami sprint?

Max Verstappen dominated the sprint.

(Bild: AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Rudy Carezzevoli)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has won the sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix with aplomb. Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari was no longer a threat to him. Sergio Perez finished in third place. 

Max Verstappen won the sprint stage at the Miami Grand Prix almost as planned. The world champion from the Netherlands won around the Miami Dolphins stadium ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. Qualifying will take place later on Saturday (22:00) before the race on Sunday.

Here is the standings in the drivers' championship:

"It wasn't quite perfect, we still have some work to do and at least with the new format we can still fine-tune the car a bit for qualifying. But a win is good," said Verstappen. Leclerc was hoping to be able to fight for pole position in qualifying. "I didn't want to risk too much, because if you crash in the sprint, you can't take part in qualifying," explained the Monegasque.

Safety car at the start
Immediately after the start, the yellow flags were waved following an accident involving several cars in the midfield, and the safety car was deployed shortly afterwards. The two casualties were Lando Norris and Lance Stroll, who were unable to continue. The race resumed on the third lap. Verstappen and Leclerc were then on and away. Perez overtook RB driver Daniel Ricciardo, who had passed him at the start, to move back into third position.

Max Verstappen celebrated another victory.

(Bild: AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Chris Graythen)

Verstappen complained about the lack of grip on his rear tires. Nevertheless, the Dutchman's lead over Leclerc at the front remained constant at just over two seconds, with a little more added at the end. In the end, Leclerc was 3.371 seconds behind Verstappen, who extended his championship lead over Perez by two points.

Disappointment at Mercedes
Behind fourth-placed Ricciardo were Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari, Oscar Piastri in the McLaren and Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Racing Bull. In the sprint, only the first eight drivers in the classification score points. For Ricciardo, it was his first points since Mexico at the end of October 2023, where he finished seventh and scored six points. "It was a very strong race from him," praised Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko in the ORF interview.

The start of the weekend was disappointing for Mercedes. George Russell was twelfth in the sprint, Lewis Hamilton only 16th plus a 20-second time penalty. Record champion Hamilton was involved in a duel with Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, with the Dane receiving a total of 35 seconds penalty from the stewards for his offense and consequently finishing last.