Miami Grand Prix Results: What Happened During The Race?

Your Sports Illustrated guide to the Miami Grand Prix.

The Miami GP got off to an intriguing start with the new driver introductions featuring LL Cool J and Will.I.Am's new Formula 1 track being performed by a live orchestra. 

Sergio Perez, who started on pole position, managed to keep his lead on the start building a one second gap behind him to Fernando Alonso by the end of the first lap.

Logan Sargeant was forced to pit on the second lap for a new nose and took new tyres whilst he was there, putting him far behind during his home F1 debut. 

Max Verstappen put in a double overtake taking him from P8 to P6 taking Kevin Magnussen and Charles Leclerc on the main straight. Lewis Hamilton was reporting problems to the Mercedes team after having a bit of contact with Nico Hulkenberg, saying to the team, "I don't think we are going to last this race."

By the tenth lap, Verstappen had got himself up from ninth place to fourth behind Carlos Sainz. Leclerc lost a place from seventh to eighth.

Verstappen was on the tail of his Red Bull teammate Perez by Lap 15, continuing with the Red Bull dominance we have seen throughout the season so far. Verstappen took the lead on Lap 20 when Perez headed into the pits for a set of hard tyres.

Sainz was handed a five second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, which is likely to be added to his time at the end as there is unlikely to be another pitstop.

The race very quickly formed an emphasis on the drivers' championship rivalry between Verstappen and Perez who are currently just six points apart in the championship. The Mexican driver took the lead back on lap 45 when Verstappen went in for his pit stop. 

Interestingly, Verstappen was receiving many updates from his Red Bull team whereas, Perez's team radio seemed to be very quiet. However, it is not clear as to whether that was just the way it was broadcasted. 

Verstappen took the lead again on lap 48 after a battle with Perez and was able to build a decent gap quickly. 

Miami Grand Prix Results

1. Max Verstappen
2. Sergio Perez
3. Fernando Alonso
4. George Russell
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Charles Leclerc
8. Pierre Gasly
9. Esteban Ocon
10. Kevin Magnussen
11. Yuki Tsunoda
12. Lance Stroll
13. Valtteri Bottas
14. Alex Albon
15. Nico Hulkenberg
16. Zhou Guanyu
17. Lando Norris
18. Nyck de Vries
19. Oscar Piastri
20. Logan Sargeant