Max Verstappen’s binary season continued in Miami. In the six races so far – including the Imola sprint – he has either won or retired each time out.
This was the 23rd victory of his Formula 1 career, an achievement which puts him on a par with Nico Rosberg and three-times world champion Nelson Piquet.
Verstappen added the fastest lap for what was his second consecutive maximum haul in the championship, though this weekend it was 26 points instead of 34. He now has 18 fastest laps, the same number as David Coulthard.
This was also Verstappen’s 63rd appearance on the podium, moving him out of a tie with Coulthard (again). At the age of 24, he is now among the top 10 drivers with the most podium finishes in their careers. Half of the top 10 are currently racing in Formula 1, including record-holder Lewis Hamilton (183), Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas.
While Verstappen has drawn within striking distance of Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship, the constructors’ title fight is even closer. Red Bull, having scored nothing in the first race of the year, are now just six points behind Ferrari. It’s nine years since Red Bull last won the teams’ title, five years after Ferrari’s most recent triumph.
Leclerc took his third pole position of the season but, for the first time this year, failed to convert it into victory. It was the 12th of his career, putting him level with Coulthard (what is it with him this week?) and Gerhard Berger.
Having lined up an unpromising 12th, George Russell kept his streak of top five finishes going. It was a day for unexpected results, as Esteban Ocon took eighth from last on the grid, and Lance Stroll inherited the final point having started from the pit lane.
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