Max Verstappen has won the Miami Grand Prix despite starting from ninth position on the grid.
The Red Bull driver was forced to start down the field due to a red flag towards the end of Q3 on Saturday, but that did not prevent the Dutchman from extending his lead at the top of the standings.
Verstappen used his hard tyre stint to surge through the pack during the opening laps, his rivals all going with the medium tyre, and he led once teammate Sergio Perez made his pit stop early in the race.
When Verstappen eventually made his one and only stop, Perez's hard tyres were 25 laps old, and there was an inevitably about the ease in which Verstappen passed the Mexican soon afterwards.
The final laps were a formality, Verstappen winning by 5.384 seconds and collecting eight more points than his Championship rival, one extra due to his fastest lap.
Four 1-2s in five races for @redbullracing 🥵🚀#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/IseSRbfAV4
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 7, 2023
Verstappen is now 14 points clear of Perez, while Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin has strengthened his grip on third with his fourth podium of the season.
The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton can claim to have had productive days with Russell finishing fourth after starting in six and Hamilton overcoming 13th spot on the grid with a hard-earned sixth.
Carlos Sainz Jr and Charles Leclerc were fifth and seventh respectively, while the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon held on for eighth and ninth respectively.
After his surprise fourth place on the grid, Haas' Kevin Magnussen collected the final point with a 10th-placed finish.
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