Max Verstappen maintained his lead from pole position at the start of the Miami Grand Prix on Saturday, navigating a chaotic opening lap under pressure from competitors.
Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, had secured pole position just a day earlier, narrowly beating Lando Norris by 0.065 seconds. This marked his second pole position at the Miami venue.
At the start of the 57-lap F1 race, the Dutch driver appeared to get a strong launch but locked his tires entering Turn 1 on the low-grip surface.
This allowed Lando Norris of McLaren to challenge for the lead. However, as Verstappen returned to the racing line, Norris veered off track and dropped from second place to sixth.
With Norris falling back, Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes emerged as the next competitor to threaten Verstappen's lead.
Antonelli was unable to pass Verstappen, but held onto second place on the first lap despite pressure from the second McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri, who started on the second row alongside him.
Further back in the field, incidents unfolded including Jack Doohan reporting a puncture early in the race.
Doohan was later shown colliding with Liam Lawson from Racing Bull during an intense midfield battle on the opening lap.
