Max Verstappen won the Sprint for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as Sergio Pérez recovered from a slip at the start of the 19-lap race to pass RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and take thid place at the flag. Ricciardo put in a strong defensive performance to hold on to fourth place ahead of the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
At lights out, Verstappen’s getaway from pole wasn’t perfect and Leclerc attacked on the run to Turn 1. The pair went deep into the braking zone and that allowed Pérez to attack Leclerc around the outside. However the Mexican’s late-braking move saw him slide wide and Ricciardo pounced, easing past the Red Bull to take third place.,
Further back, there was contact as the field funnelled into the first corner. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll turned sharply into Turn 1 and he collided with team-mate Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Lando Norris. Alonso managed to limp back to the pits as the Safety Car was released but Norris and Stroll were forced to retire.
The debris in Turn 1 was swiftly cleared and at the end of lap 3 the Safety Car left the track. Verstappen controlled the re-start well powering away from Leclerc out of Turn 17 to comfortably retain his lead as they crossed the line. With DRS enabled on the following lap, Pérez closed on Ricciardo and at Turn 11 the Red Bull driver dived up the inside to take third.
At the front and having already broken DRS, the leading pair began to pull away from the pack and on lap 6 Verstappen was almost two seconds ahead of Leclerc and the Ferrari driver had over three seconds in hand over Pérez.
The Mexican attempted to reel in Leclerc, but though he steadily reduced the gap after the midway point, he struggled in the dirty air behind the Ferrari and with three laps to go he found himself stuck, just under two seconds off the Monegasque driver.
An at the front, Verstappen cruised his second Sprint win of the season, 2.7 seconds clear of Leclerc. Pérez took a comfortable P3 ahead of Ricciardo who put in an excellent defensive performance to keep Ferrari’s Carlosd Sainz at bay. Piastri took sixth place ahead of Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg and the final point on offer went to Yuki Tsunoda in the second RB.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Sprint
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 19 31’31.383
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 19 31’34.754 3.371
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 19 31’36.478 5.095
4 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 19 31’46.354 14.971
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 19 31’46.605 15.222
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 19 31’47.133 15.750
7 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 19 31’53.437 22.054
8 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 19 32’01.199 29.816
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 19 32’03.263 31.880
10 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 19 32’05.738 34.355
11 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 19 32’06.461 35.078
12 George Russell Mercedes 19 32’07.138 35.755
13 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 19 32’07.469 36.086
14 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 19 32’08.275 36.892
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 19 32’09.123 37.740
16 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 19 32’20.730 49.347
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 19 32’30.792 59.409
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 19 32’37.686 1’06.303
Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1 2’57.190 Accident damage
Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 0 – Accident
