Victorious Verstappen says 'I'll stick to racing ' after Muhammad Ali comparison

The current champion battled through an intense, physical and humid race in Florida which saw him push through from third on the grid to ultimately take the lead and control the rest of the race despite a late resurgence from Charles Leclerc.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, it was suggested with such physical resilience he would perhaps be a successful boxer like another champion, Muhammad Ali.

“It was an incredible Grand Prix, very physical as well, but I think we kept it exciting until the end,” Verstappen said.

“I think I’ll stick to racing but I appreciate boxing. I’m incredibly happy winning in Miami. It was an incredible Sunday for us.”

Ferrari’s Leclerc agreed that it was a tough race to have gone through, and suggested that problems with the tyres – which Red Bull noted had started to fray before the first 10 laps were out – held him back.

“It was a very difficult race physically, we struggled with the medium tyres quite a bit in the first stint and got overtaken then,” he acknowledged.

“It made our race a bit more difficult from that moment onwards.”

There was a brief moment of hope for the Monegasque youngster but despite being unable to capitalise, he was optimistic for the rest of the campaign.

“On the hards we were very competitive and in the end I thought I could get Max at one point, but today they had the advantage in terms of pace,” he explained.

“But it was fun. It was amazing to see so many people and so many Ferrari fans in the grandstand.

“We need to keep pushing. Each race will be very important throughout the year. And I hope now we can do a step up, from next race onwards.”

Leclerc leads the championship by 19 points from second-placed Verstappen.