Oscar Piastri has significantly strengthened his lead in the World Championship by securing his fourth victory of the season at the Miami Grand Prix. The Australian driver led his teammate Lando Norris to achieve a remarkable 1-2 finish for McLaren, showcasing their dominance throughout the race.
Initially, Max Verstappen took the lead from pole position, but an intense battle with Norris caused the British driver to run wide, allowing both Kimi Antonelli and Piastri to overtake him. As the race progressed, Piastri managed to pass the Mercedes of Antonelli and quickly applied pressure on Verstappen, who was struggling to maintain his position.
After successfully maneuvering into the lead, Piastri was followed closely by a recovering Norris, who secured second place. This allowed the McLaren duo to establish a substantial gap ahead of the rest of the field, demonstrating their superior pace and strategy throughout the 57-lap event.
Piastri ultimately crossed the finish line with a commanding lead of 4.63 seconds ahead of Norris. Meanwhile, George Russell from Mercedes claimed the final spot on the podium in third place, albeit a staggering 37 seconds behind Piastri. This stark time difference underscores McLaren’s outstanding performance during the race. Verstappen, despite starting from pole, had to settle for fourth place in his Red Bull, continuing the trend of Miami polesitters never winning the race.
Alex Albon delivered an impressive performance, finishing fifth for Williams, while Kimi Antonelli secured sixth for Mercedes. The Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, finished seventh and eighth, respectively. They were involved in a lengthy discussion regarding team orders in the latter part of the race, which resulted in Hamilton overtaking Leclerc, only for the positions to be reversed later on. Hamilton managed to retain eighth place despite a late-race battle with Carlos Sainz from Williams, who ended the race in ninth after an incident that will be reviewed post-race.
Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the points finishers in tenth place for Red Bull. Isack Hadjar narrowly missed out on points, finishing eleventh, followed by Esteban Ocon in twelfth for Haas and Pierre Gasly in thirteenth for Alpine. Both Gasly and Sainz are set to be investigated for a potential yellow flag infringement following the race.
Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg finished fourteenth, while Aston Martin faced a difficult day, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll classified as the last runners in fifteenth and sixteenth place, respectively. The event saw four drivers retire, including Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, who returned to the pits, and Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Ollie Bearman, both of whom triggered Virtual Safety Car periods due to mechanical failures.
Additionally, Jack Doohan ended his race prematurely on Lap 1 after making contact with Lawson, resulting in too much damage for the Alpine driver to continue. With plenty of action and drama, the Miami Grand Prix proved to be a thrilling chapter in the ongoing F1 season, with more updates to follow.
