VERSTAPPEN KEEPS RED BULL UNBEATEN
Max Verstappen used an easy Sunday drive to keep Red Bull undefeated on the season, as the reigning two-time Formula One champion drove from ninth to the victory at the Miami Grand Prix.
Red Bull has won all five races so far this season, and teammate Sergio Perez’s second-place finish in Miami was the fourth 1-2 finish for Red Bull this year. Verstappen has three wins this season, while Perez, the pole sitter in Miami, has two.
The win was the 38th of his career for Verstappen, who tied Sebastian Vettel for most victories for Red Bull. At this pace, he’ll smash Vettel’s record by the end of what many critics are already complaining is a boring Red Bull-dominated season.
“I call that simply (expletive) lovely,” Verstappen said on his radio. “That was a good race, a good race all around, so thank you very much. That was really, really good, also good for the team, again”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner praised Verstappen’s poise over the 57-lap race that gave him his second consecutive victory in Miami.
“Well done, Max. That was a mighty middle stint, really impressive on the hard tire and thanks for racing cleanly with your teammate,” Horner said.
Verstappen took the lead
when Perez pitted on lap 20 and he held nearly a 18-second lead with 15 laps remaining. When he finally made his pit stop, Verstappen returned to the track in second but only 1.6 seconds behind Perez.
It took him just minutes to pass Perez for the win, taking the lead in a wheel-to-wheel battle with nine laps remaining. Although Verstappen has won from a lower starting position before, he becomes the first driver since Niki Lauda in 1984 at the French Grand Prix to win from ninth.
Verstappen now holds a 14point lead over Perez in the standings.
Perez finished second, a full
5.3 seconds behind Verstappen.
Hamlin bumps Larson to win
Denny Hamlin bumped Kyle Larson off the lead heading onto the backstretch of the final lap, giving him a clear path to the finish line at Kansas Speedway and ending Hamlin’s 33-race winless drought in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Hamlin went to the front on the record 38th lead change of a chaotic race at Kansas for his fourth victory at the track and the 400th win overall for Joe Gibbs Racing. It was Hamlin’s first trip to victory lane since last year’s Coca-Cola 600.
“I was trying to side-draft him and clipped his left rear,” Hamlin said of the last-lap pass. “I’m glad he was able to finish.”
Larson had held Hamlin off for about 30 laps, despite fighting a rapidly loosening car. Hamlin had pulled up to his bumper with three laps to go but fell away crossing the startfinish line, then lined up for one more try that he made stick.
“I was really loose,” Larson said.
“He was able to finally get my inside off two. It seemed he was side-drafting me aggressively. I don’t know if he finally got me turned sideways, but turned me into the outside wall and he got the win.”
William Byron spent more than 50 laps riding around two laps down before rallying onto the lead lap, and even fighting for the lead down the stretch before finishing third. Bubba Wallace was fourth and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five.
Chastain, who has drawn the ire of many drivers this season with his aggressiveness, found himself in another heated confrontation on pit road after the race. He had gotten into Noah Gragson with about 60 laps to go and sent him for a spin, and Gragson walked up to the Trackhouse Racing driver afterward to make his displeasure known.
Chastain eventually threw a right hook, Gragson tried to throw a punch of his own and crew members had to separate them.