May 4, (THEWILL)- Max Verstappen, the 26-year-old triple world champion for Red Bull, continued his dominance in the 2024 Formula One season by winning in the Miami Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday.
The Dutchman started from pole position and led the 19-lap race around the Miami International Autodrome in a commanding display, crossing the finish line 3.371 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen’s triumph in Miami extended his unbeaten streak in the city and increased his championship lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who finished third.
“My engagement wasn’t good at the start, so I had to squeeze him (Leclerc) a bit,” Verstappen said. “Luckily, everything worked out in turn one. It wasn’t entirely perfect, so we still have a bit of work to do. However, a win is good, and I’m happy with that. It gives us a good few points to look at to improve on.”
Later on Saturday, Verstappen will aim to extend his run of consecutive pole positions to six, having started all five previous races from the front. If successful, he will match the feat achieved by the French great Alain Prost, who took the first six poles of the 1993 season with Williams. Additionally, Verstappen is pursuing a Miami Grand Prix hat-trick, having won the inaugural race in 2022 and then again from ninth on the grid last May.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo earned his best result of the season by finishing fourth, ahead of the second Ferrari driven by Carlos Sainz, the only driver other than Verstappen to win a race this season.
Oscar Piastri salvaged some points for McLaren by finishing sixth, while Nico Hulkenberg secured seventh for Haas, and Yuki Tsunoda grabbed the last points position for AlphaTauri.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
