Max Verstappen wins Miami sprint race as Daniel Ricciardo stars to finish fourth

Max Verstappen added yet another F1 sprint race victory to his CV with a comfortable win in Miami, 3.3s clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen fended off Leclerc into Turn 1 and didn’t look back.

While the Dutchman was unhappy with the handling of his Red Bull, he was still comfortably the fastest driver on track.

It means Verstappen has nine sprint race victories to his name - seven more than any other driver on the grid.

Sergio Perez finished third despite losing out to Daniel Ricciardo on the opening lap.

Perez had to bide his time before getting past the RB driver, who has starred at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.

Despite dropping behind Perez, Ricciardo had enough pace to keep Carlos Sainz behind, defending beautifully on a number of occasions.

The battle went down to the final lap but Ricciardo did enough to secure fourth - his and RB’s best result of the season.

Sainz finished fifth ahead of the sole McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Lando Norris’ race was ended on the opening lap after a four-car collision between the aforementioned McLaren, two Aston Martins and Lewis Hamilton.

Fernando Alonso looked on course to collide with teammate Lance Stroll, but it was made certain when Hamilton lunged down the inside of Alonso into Turn 1.

The stewards ultimately decided to take no action, but Norris and Stroll were forced out of the race.

Behind Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg enjoyed a comfortable afternoon to give Haas two more points.

His race was made easier by an over-aggressive Kevin Magnussen.

Magnussen picked up three penalties, totalling 25 seconds, for his driving against Hamilton, ultimately dropping him down to 18th.

Hamilton did finish seventh on track but was hit with a post-race drive-through penalty for speeding.

This allowed Yuki Tsunoda to complete the top eight in the sprint, meaning both RBs scored points.

Pierre Gasly and Logan Sargeant rounded out the top 10, while Hamilton was 16th after his penalty.