No sweat for Verstappen in sweltering Miami Grand Prix

Mercedes showed much improvement with fifth- and sixth-place finishes for George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. It's the fourth time in five races that first-year Mercedes driver Russell has beaten the seven-time champion.

The race itself wasn't the thriller the 85,000 in attendance on Sunday breathlessly expected when they snagged one of the hottest tickets in sports. Promoters never had a general ticket sale because of crushing early demand and the campus surrounding Hard Rock Stadium was the place to party over the last three days.

Whether it was at the man-made beach club where musical acts have entertained since Friday or the "marina" that docked 10 boats on plywood covered in a decal to resemble rippling water, F1 got the sun, sand and Miami backdrop it wanted when it agreed to this 10-year deal.

Come race day, the celebrities were out in full force. Former NBA star Dwyane Wade took selfies on the starting grid and Paris Hilton danced in front of the McLaren garage; Tom Brady, David Beckham and Michael Jordan posed for a pre-race picture with Lewis Hamilton, who hosted former first lady Michelle Obama on Saturday at the track. Serena Williams ducked into Mercedes' hospitality and Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny arrived at the venue with Perez and spent most of pre-race at Red Bull with the Mexican driver.

The Miami event gives the US two F1 races in one season for the first time since 1984. F1 will add Las Vegas as a third American race in 2023.

It was a strange event for Haas F1, the only American team on the 20-car grid. The team split its strategy between Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher following the late safety car and Schumacher was in position to score the first points of his career and give Haas its best finish in the United States.

But Schumacher inexplicably ran into Sebastian Vettel to end his breakout day. He finished 15th and Magnussen retired one lap from the end.

"It was the hardest race I've ever done, it was unbelievably hot," Magnussen said.

Schumacher said he was "gutted "he didn't finish inside the top 10.

"I think it was our best race so far this year," he said. "We were on the road to getting points, but we'll have to wait some more."

Agencies Via Xinhua