No sweat for Verstappen in sweltering Miami Grand Prix

Verstappen pounced at the start to get ahead of Sainz, then set his sights on Leclerc and used a strong outside pass on the ninth lap to claim the lead.

Leclerc said the tires on his Ferrari struggled on a hot South Florida day in which temperatures reached the mid-30s Celsius despite intermittent showers.

"We struggled a little bit after five, six laps with the front tires, and then we struggled and basically lost the race in that stage," Leclerc said. "Losing the lead and then losing quite a bit of race time because of the degradation, we need to look at that and be on top of it for the next race."

Verstappen went unchallenged until a late crash between Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly brought out the safety car and set up a 10-lap sprint to the finish on the 19-turn, 5.41-kilometer circuit built around Hard Rock Stadium－home to the NFL's Dolphins.

Leclerc got a few looks inside in the closing laps but Verstappen didn't relent and won by 3.7 seconds.

"I think we were very competitive or at least as competitive as Max," Leclerc said. "And after the safety car, I really felt that we had a shot to actually take back the lead."

Verstappen also won two weeks ago at Imola as Red Bull capitalized on a poor Ferrari weekend on Italian home soil with a 1-2 finish for Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

In Miami, Ferrari settled for second and third for Leclerc and Sainz, while Perez was fourth. Perez said he's started talks on a new contract with Red Bull but neither side is in a hurry to complete a deal.