Verstappen, Pérez, Red Bull, Miami, 2023 — Photo: © LAT Images

Max Verstappen

Verstappen reveals Red Bull 'GAMBLE' that clinched Miami GP win

The world champion began the race on the hard tyre but romped ahead of Sergio Perez late on

Dan Davis

Monday 8 May 2023 09:57 Updated: 21:08

Max Verstappen shared his delight after fighting from ninth on the grid to clinch victory at the Miami Grand Prix, pointing to the importance of his strategy.

The world champion was locked in an intriguing scrap with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez for much of the race, with Verstappen starting on the hard tyres while his primary rival in the drivers' championship title scrap began on the mediums.

Ultimately, it was the Dutchman who took the chequered flag first, having battled through the pack during a long first stint and overtaken Perez shortly after pitting.

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Perez's setback has now increased the deficit between both drivers to 14 points at the top of the standings and unsurprisingly, Verstappen was left delighted.

Intriguingly, he also delved into the thinking behind the team's approach.

Verstappen powered through the pack before overtaking his team-mate

Verstappen: We had a great car

"It was a marvellous first stint, it worked out beautifully for us," he told Fox Sports Premium MX. "We gambled a bit with the hard compound so that there was no safety car at the beginning of the race, luckily we didn't get one.

"We had a great car today that allowed us to get positions very fast and close the gap to Checo, who had an excellent race as well. He just didn't have the tyres to fight back."

Opening up further on his imperious drive, he told Sky Sports: "It was a good race. I stayed out of trouble at the beginning, had a clean race, picked off the cars one by one and I could stay out really long on the hard tyre.

"I think that's where we made the difference today and then a good little battle with Checo at the end. Yesterday was a bit of a setback, but today we kept it calm and clean, and winning a race from P9 is always very satisfying."