MUST-SEE: Relive Magnussen and Hamilton’s bare-knuckle battle in the Miami Sprint

Kevin Magnussen and Lewis Hamilton treated the fans at the Miami International Autodrome to a thrilling fight in the 19-lap Sprint – although it was RB’s Yuki Tsunoda who ended up being the biggest beneficiary…

A lightning start from P14 on the grid for Magnussen had given him P8 by the end of the first lap – aided by a collision between Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Lando Norris, which forced the latter two into retirement – with Hamilton then putting the Dane under pressure midway through the Sprint.

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What followed was a breathless fight between Magnussen and seven-time champion Hamilton, the pair even making contact at Turn 12 on Lap 11, in a move that allowed Tsunoda to jump past Hamilton.

Magnussen’s robust defensive tactics would earn him a full 35 seconds’ worth of penalties come the chequered flag, dropping him to P18 in the classification – with Hamilton also earning a drive-through penalty (converted to a 20-second penalty) for speeding in the pit lane that dropped him to P16, as Tsunoda again benefitted to claim a point for RB, to add to Daniel Ricciardo’s five points for P4.

Meanwhile, Magnussen’s defence at least allowed team mate Nico Hulkenberg to claim P7, and two valuable points for Haas.

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"All the penalties were well deserved, no doubt about it, but I had to play the game again," Magnussen told Sky Sports F1 afterwards. "I was in a very good position behind Nico there and at the beginning I gained a lot of postions, was up in P8.

"I was protecting well from Lewis – because I had DRS from Nico and I had good pace I felt – but then Nico cut the chicane and I lost DRS. Nico could have given that back to give me the DRS to protect, and we would easily have been P7 and P8.

"But instead I was really vulnerable to Lewis and started fighting with him like crazy. I had to just create the gap like I did in Jeddah and start using these stupid tactics, which I don't like doing. But at the end of the day I did my job as a team player and Nico scored his points because I got that gap for him."