Miami Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins sprint race from Charles Leclerc

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took a controlled victory ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix.

Verstappen was in control after fending off an attack from Leclerc at the first corner.

Sergio Perez dropped behind RB’s Daniel Ricciardo at the first corner, after trying to pass Leclerc, but recovered to take third.

Ricciardo drove an exceptional race, fighting a rearguard battle, to hold off Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren to take fourth.

Lewis Hamilton was left frustrated by some over-aggressive defence from Haas driver Kevin Magnussen in eighth place, taking the final point on the track.

But Hamilton was penalised for speeding in the pit lane and given a drive-through penalty, which added 20 seconds to his race time and dropped him to 16th.

Magnussen earned himself two 10-second penalties – one for leaving the track and gaining an advantage and one for forcing Hamilton off the track.

The second incident was especially annoying for the seven-time champion because it allowed RB’s Yuki Tsunoda to slip by for eighth place after Hamilton had spent 14 laps trying to pass the Haas.

Hamilton, though, managed to reclaim the place on the final lap, only to be hit with the penalty.

Hamilton was also involved in a first-corner incident that led to the retirement of McLaren’s Lando Norris that will be investigated by stewards.

Hamilton dived for the inside of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who was pincered by the Mercedes and his team-mate Lance Stroll on the outside. When the three came together, Stroll bounced into Norris, who stopped in the run-off area and brought out a safety car for three laps.

Ricciardo started fourth, his best performance by far in a season that has been difficult for the Australian so far, but used all his guile and experience to hold off Sainz and Piastri.

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg took seventh.

At the front, Verstappen was imperious as always, but Leclerc hung on well for much of the race to finish 3.3 seconds behind.

Perez passed Ricciardo in the course of lap five but could do nothing about Leclerc, who was more than comfortable in holding off the second Red Bull as the action all happened behind the top three.

The drivers return to the track at 16:00 local time (21:00 BST) for qualifying for the grand prix.