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Max Verstappen wins F1 Miami Grand Prix, equalling Red Bull victory record

Max Verstappen's win in Miami is the 38th of his F1 career. (AP Photo: Lynne Sladky)

Max Verstappen has overcome starting in the midfield to win the Miami Grand Prix and extend his lead in the Formula 1 drivers' championship.

Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez finished second, with the Aston Martin rounding out the podium.

Verstappen started ninth after a mistake during qualifying but, on an alternative strategy to his teammate, the two-time world champion was a class above the rest.

While Perez pitted on lap 20, Verstappen — on hard tyres — was able to push his pit stop to lap 45, so he could finish the race on faster tyres.

Verstappen came from the pits less than two seconds behind Perez, and made the race-winning move with 10 laps to go.

"I could stay out long on the hard tyres, and that's what made the difference," Verstappen said.

"Yesterday was a setback. Today we kept it calm, we kept it clean. Winning from [ninth] is very satisfying."

Starting from ninth, Verstappen began on the hard-compound tyres, a different strategy to the front-runners who started on the mediums.

Following an uneventful first lap, Verstappen started to make his move up the order.

His overtaking of both Charles Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen at the end of lap 3 was one of the highlights of the race.

The Dutchman was up to fourth by the end of lap 9, just five seconds behind his teammate Perez, who was leading, and then the margin was just 1 second by lap 15.

Sergio Perez started on pole and led the first 20 laps of the race. (Reuters: Ricardo Arduengo)

Verstappen took the lead at the end of lap 20, when Perez came into the pits for his hard tyres.

The Dutchman was excellent over the next 25 laps, holding a consistent lead of roughly 18 seconds as Perez struggled to make any inroads.

The victory is Max Verstappen's 38th of his career, equalling Sebastian Vettel for the most wins in a Red Bull car.

Car issues takes fight out of Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri had a race to forget with McLaren, finishing 19th. (AP: Darko Bandic)

McLaren's painful weekend in Miami ended with both cars finishing in the bottom four.

Oscar Piastri's promising start to the race was offset by a brake issue that hindered the Australian's pace.

Piastri finished 19th, the same position he started, while Lando Norris only managed 17th.

Both McLarens were the only two who started the race on the soft compound tyres.

The team hoped quicker tyres would give Piastri and Norris a chance to climb the order quickly.

Piastri had a dream first lap, climbing five positions up to 14th, but the soft tyres did not last long.

Both McLarens had to pit early, with the Australian coming in for new tyres at the end of the fifth lap.

However, after the pit stop, Piastri struggled with a brake pedal issue that ended any faint hope of finishing in the top 10.

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