F1 LIVE: Zinedine Zidane left red-faced as Hamilton, Norris and Alonso involved in crash
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have hit the headlines at the Miami Grand Prix (Image: Getty)
Max Verstappen is in pole position for the Miami Grand Prix sprint race and prodded fun at his under-performing rivals after what he deemed a “terrible” qualifying session. The Red Bull star can win a third consecutive Miami GP this weekend and the gulf in quality between him and his Formula One colleagues was on full display on Friday.
Learning that he had pole position for Saturday’s race, Verstappen laughed down the team microphone to Red Bull’s engineers. The Dutchman beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to pole position, with an exciting weekend of racing set to get underway.
Lewis Hamilton handed huge penalty
Lewis Hamilton edged Yuki Tsunoda near the end to pick up the final point of the Sprint.
However, the Mercedes man gets a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane after the race, which has been converted into a time penalty.
So Hamilton drops down to P16 and Tsunoda takes the final point, making it a fantastic afternoon in Miami for RB.
Max Verstappen wins the Miami GP Sprint
Max Verstappen cruises to victory in the Miami GP Sprint!
Full Standings:
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
4) Daniel Ricciardo, RB
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
6) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
7) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
8) Yuki Tsunoda, RB
Norris, Hamilton and Alonso in early crash
A safety car is called in the first lap of the Sprint after a crash that has resulted in a disastrous early exit for Lando Norris.
Lewis Hamilton went up the inside of Fernando Alonso but couldn’t slow down and made contact with the Aston Martin.
Alonso subsequently went into Lance Stroll, who then hit Norris on his outside. Stroll has joined Norris out of the race.
Hamilton has been quite fortunate to escape any further action after stewards assessed the incident.
Ocon handed big penalty
Esteban Ocon didn’t have much chance of scoring points in today’s Sprint but he almost certainly won’t now.
The Alpine driver has been handed a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release into Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in the pit lane.
Ocon now starts from P13, and Leclerc fortunately avoided any damage ahead of starting alongside Max Verstappen on the front row.