(Miami Gardens) What a display of Max Verstappen! Starting in ninth position, the reigning double world champion made a superb comeback to win the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, the fifth round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
The Dutchman overtook his Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez, who had started from pole position, and the Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin).
Mad Max, who started from the fifth row, was quick to show the superiority of his RB19: he was already fourth after 9 laps and grabbed second place on lap 15 after obliterating Carlos Sainz then Alonso.
He then took the lead on lap 21 when Pérez pitted and delayed his tire change as much as possible in order to have enough of a lead to hopefully get out ahead of his teammate.
Verstappen finally stopped on lap 46 and came out just behind Pérez, but he took the lead two laps later and never let go.
A week after a disappointing weekend in Azerbaijan, where he took second place in the Grand Prix and third in the sprint, the Dutchman set the record straight.
Thanks to his third victory of the season and the fastest lap in the race, he increased his world championship lead over Pérez by six points to 14 lengths (119 pts against 105).
By completing their fourth one-two in five races, Red Bull confirmed their overwhelming dominance and left the competition with only the crumbs.
At the wheel of his Aston Martin, Alonso again had a great race to clinch another podium, his fourth of the season. His Canadian teammate Lance Stroll, who missed qualifying, finished 12th after starting in 18th.
Mercedes, struggling in qualifying, made up for it in the Grand Prix with Britain’s George Russell finishing fourth and his compatriot Lewis Hamilton, who started in 13th position, sixth.
Ferrari, which had finally won its first podium of the season in Baku last weekend, limited the damage by placing its two single-seaters in the Top 7. Spaniard Carlos Sainz finished fifth despite a five-second penalty for a speeding in the pits, while Monegasque Charles Leclerc took seventh place.
The French team Alpine, which had scored no points in the last two races, reacted well in Miami: Frenchmen Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon took 8th and 9th places.
Dane Kevin Magnussen, who had taken a surprising fourth place on the grid, completes the Top 10 and takes a point for his Haas team, which was playing in front of its home crowd and its partners in the United States.