miami world champion max verstappen will seek to ignore all the hype and razzmatazz this weekend when he bids to trim charles leclercs lead with a third win of the season at the inaugural miami grand prixfresh from victory at the emilia romagna grand prix where he led sergio perez home in a resounding red bull onetwo the 24yearold dutchman arrives in florida trailing championship leader leclerc of ferrari by 27 pointsafter four races both drivers know there is a long way to go in the title race and will be aware that their longawaited formula one duel has captured the imagination ahead of sundays keenlyanticipated contestround five of the new era battle between a younger generation of racers takes place at the selfstyled miami international autodrome a fast street track built around car parks at the hard rock stadium in miami gardensthe stadium is by rich irony home to the nfls miami dolphins whose name serves to remind f1s bruised drivers of the pain generated by their new ground effect cars this season as they bump up and down porpoising at high speeds on the straightsit is an exciting new challenge and a step into the unknown said toto wolff team boss of champions mercedes whose cars have suffered extreme porpoising this yearthe track looks demanding with a real mix of low and highspeed corners and its set to be a spectacular showcase for the sport to a growing us fanbase were set for a fantastic eventthe race will be the first of two in america this year adding to the successful united states grand prix held in austin texas and preevent hype has drawn suggestions that it will be f1s answer to the super bowl complete with alist celebrities and vast crowded hospitality areasa third american race in las vegas is scheduled to join the calendar next yeari think this weekend is going to be pretty crazy said verstappen im looking forward to the racing ive driven the track on the simulator and weve practiced and prepared as much as we can without visiting in real lifei love racing in austin so its fun that we get to go to another state exciting to see f1 getting so much bigger in the usit looks positive said alfa romeos valtteri bottas when asked about the track layout and prospects for good racing lets see how it goes in real life to me on paper it looked good as an event im sure it will be amazingwhile leclerc and verstappen are the main attractions there will also be much interest in the ongoing struggles of seventime champion lewis hamilton of mercedes after a poor start to the seasonwithout a win in four races he is already 58 points behind leclerc and has written off his own hopes of a title challenge but he has been contradicted unexpectedly by red bull team boss christian hornerhorner told the respected f1nation podcast lewis had a horrible weekend but he hasnt forgotten how