Max Verstappen closes onto Lewis Hamilton after Miami Grand Prix Win

Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead was reduced to 19 points after Max Verstappen’s victory at the Miami Grand Prix.

The Safety Car was brought out after Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly’s collision; Carlo Sainz finished in third place, while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton came in fifth.

Charles Leclerc’s championship lead was slashed by Max Verstappen after he fought back to win the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.

In an incredible atmosphere at America’s new street track, Max Verstappen was in peak form and comfortably overtook both Ferraris early on, before a late Safety Car (caused by a dramatic Lando Norris crash) led to a thrilling finale as the field bunched up.

In the final laps of the race, pole-sitter Leclerc, who had lost the lead on Lap 7, suddenly rediscovered his pace, but was unable to overtake teammate Max Verstappen despite using DRS.

Verstappen remained calm and collected to win the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, giving him a clean sweep of the season’s first three races. Leclerc has a 19-point lead over him in the championship despite his two DNFs.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who had fresh tyres at the end of the race but was also hampered by a lack of power due to an engine issue, finished second behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished fifth and sixth, with Russell taking the checkered flag ahead of his teammate for the fourth race in a row.

Before the Safety Car, Russell was running 12th, but he was able to take advantage of the situation. After that, Russell was able to get ahead of Hamilton twice, first on Lap 51, when Mercedes told him to give back the position, and then on Lap 73, when he was able to make the move legally.

Despite leading Mercedes for most of the race, Valtteri Bottas was forced to settle for seventh place after he veered off the track and slammed into the concrete.

On Lap 40, Norris was involved in a terrifying accident that halted the race.

Pierre Gasly had been running slowly in his AlphaTauri after making contact with Fernando Alonso moments earlier when the incident occurred. For some reason Gasly’s left front tyre caught the rear right of the McLaren as Norris was speeding past, sending the McLaren flying and sending Norris into a spin.

Alonso received a five-second time penalty for attempting to pass Gasly too early in the race, and the Spaniard retired from the race as a result. As a result of his second penalty for leaving the track to gain an advantage, the Spaniard finished the race in 11th place.

Esteban Ocon, who came from the back of the grid, was promoted to eighth, Alex Albon to ninth, and Lance Stroll to tenth as a result of those penalties.

While Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher avoided a penalty for their late collision at Turn 1, both drivers’ hopes of points on Sunday were dashed.