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F1: Happy Verstappen triumphs in sweltering Miami

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Dutch Formula One driver Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing in action during the Formula One Grand Prix​ of Miami at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, USA, 08 May 2022. Greg Nash, EPA-EFE." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/05/09/f1_miami-gp_epa.jpg"/><figcaption>Dutch Formula One driver Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing in action during the Formula One Grand Prix​ of Miami at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, USA, 08 May 2022. Greg Nash, EPA-EFE.</figcaption></figure></div>MIAMI GARDENS -- World champion Max Verstappen resisted a late attack from series leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari to claim an accomplished victory for Red Bull in sweltering conditions at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.In a physically exhausting race for the drivers and teams at the Miami International Autodrome, the 24-year-old Dutchman produced a mature performance to make the most of superior straight line speed in a largely processional race until a late Safety Car intervention.His second win in succession and third of the season enabled him to trim Leclerc’s advantage to 19 points in the drivers&#x27; championship. Leclerc has 104 and Verstappen 85. It was the 23rd win of the Dutchman’s career.&quot;It was an incredible Grand Prix, very physical as well, but I think we kept it exciting until the end,&quot; said Verstappen, interviewed by retired American driver Willy T. Ribbs after the race.When Ribbs suggested he looked ready to &quot;get into a boxing ring&quot;, Verstappen retorted: &quot;I think I’ll stick to racing, but I appreciate boxing a lot. It felt a bit like that out there in terms of how we feel now.&quot;I’m incredibly happy with winning here in Miami and it was an incredible Sunday for us.&quot;Leclerc said he felt that the Red Bull was clearly a faster car than his Ferrari in a hot and punishing race.&quot;It was such a difficult race, physically,&quot; said Leclerc. &quot;We struggled quite a bit with the medium tires, especially in the first stint, and was overtaken there. That made our race a bit more difficult from that moment onwards.- &#x27;Step up&#x27; -&quot;On the hard tire, we were very competitive and towards the end I thought I could get Max at one point, but today they had the advantage in terms of pace.&quot;He said he hoped Ferrari would make a &#x27;step up&#x27; with upgrades for the Spanish Grand Prix later this month, but added that he had enjoyed the atmosphere generated by a sell-out crowd that was sprinkled with celebrities. &quot;It was fun and it&#x27;s amazing to see so many people again,&quot; he said. &quot;I keep saying it, but it&#x27;s great to see so many Ferrari fans in the grandstands.&quot;Now, we need to keep pushing. Upgrades will be very important throughout the year and I hope that we can do a step up from the next race onwards.&quot;Verstappen came home 3.786 seconds ahead of Leclerc with Carlos Sainz third in the second Ferrari after holding off a late charge from Sergio Perez. George Russell finished fifth after recovering from 15th on the opening lap to come home ahead of Mercedes team-mate, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.&quot;I did the best I could. It’s a good result for the team,&quot; said Hamilton, who had spent the buildup to the race rowing with the sport&#x27;s governing body about how much jewelry he wears.In a tactical race of attrition and many minor incidents, Russell made the most of a late Safety Car intervention when McLaren’s Lando Norris collided with Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri to take a ‘free’ pit stop for new tires.The final ten laps produced more action than the previous 47 including another accident when Mick Schumacher of Haas collided with fellow-German four-time champion Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin.Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo finished seventh ahead of Esteban Ocon and his Alpine team-mate two-time champion Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon who was a fine 10th for Williams.<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

Max Verstappen resisted a late attack from Charles Leclerc of Ferrari to claim an accomplished victory for Red Bull at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.