Oscar Piastri has battled through a tough weekend in his first trip to the United States as a Formula 1 driver, with the Australian finishing the Miami Grand Prix in 19th.
 
Having shown positive signs in his previous two outings, Piastri was unable to replicate his efforts from Australia and Baku as the McLaren rookie struggled to find pace throughout the event,
 
Qualifying proved a challenge for both McLaren drivers as Piastri qualified in 19th and teammate Lando Norris in 16th.
 
When it came to the race, McLaren went with an intriguing strategy as both drivers started on soft compound tyres, and it was a move that looked to pay off for Piastri as the 21-year-old made up a handful of places in the opening two laps.
 
Unfortunately, his climb up the field didn’t last long as he was soon brought into the pits to switch tyres which saw him drop down to 18th, with only Norris and Williams’ Logan Sargent behind.
 
Braking issues caused more woes for Piastri as he dropped below Norris and remained at the back of the field for the rest of the race where he was unable to make up any positions.
 
There were no such problems for championship leader Max Verstappen, who became just the fifth driver in history to win a race from ninth – an early charge from the dutchman helping him produce a stellar victory.
 
After being unable to post a final qualifying time due to a Charles Leclerc crash, Verstappen was on a mission as a double overtake on lap three one of the highlights of the race.
 
On hard tyres, Verstappen got the most out of his car during his opening stint and charged up the field until he reached Red Bull teammate and race leader Sergio Perez.
 
With the Mexican pitting on lap 20 and Verstappen on lap 45, it was a strategy that paid off as the reigning champion gained the lead just two laps after his pitstop and never let go.
 
Perez would eventually cross the line in second place ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, marking a fourth Red Bull one-two.
 
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton also enjoyed a charge up the field himself as he went from 13th to sixth to finish behind teammate George Russell in fourth and Carlos Sainz, who received a five second penalty for speeding in pit lane.
 
Rounding out the top 10 behind the seven-time champion were Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen.
 
Following on from Miami, Verstappen now holds a 14 points advantage over his teammate after picking up an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.
 
His victory also marked his 38th for Red Bull – putting him equal with Sebastian Vettel’s record of the most wins for the team.  
 
The FIA Formula 1 World Championship now heads to Italy for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola on 19-21 May.