Oscar Piastri defeated Lando Norris at the Miami Grand Prix, with McLaren winning a full win and defeating the field for over 30 minutes.
Piastri took advantage of the first lap that was a chaotic lap that saw Polesitter Max Verstappen and front row starter Lando Norris hit turn 2 and sent Briton off the truck.
Norris got a slight start, and Barstappen’s lockup allowed him to get off the inside of the Red Bull racing car on his first turn. This movement left Norris hanging outside of Turn 2. There, Verstappen’s knock brought him back on track. The Dutch continued the lead, but Norris came in sixth as he rejoined the track.
Kimi Antonelli then tried the Verstappen move, but the teenager’s challenge continued until the end of the rap. A lockup to the first corner opened the door to Piastri.
By lap 9, the Australian was at a standout distance from the lead, but Verstappen was not trying to make it easier for him.
“Max, stay inside.
He refuses the attempt on the first turn, and again on turn 10, with Piastri clinging to the Red Bull Racing Gearbox throughout the lap until a minor lockup on turn 1 dropped him slightly from the pace.
By lap 13 he was on the tail of the Netherlands again, and a strong exit from the final hairpin pulled him towards the first turn.
Verstappen tried to protect the brakes deeply, but due to lockup, he sailed off the road. Piastri saw it coming, stayed wide and then cleaned the inside comfortably to take the lead.
Verstappen kept McLaren at bay for a while, but Piastri played it perfectly. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
“Brake, Man,” Verstappen came from Team Radio. “It’s useless.”
Norris made equally strong progress until he came third on lap nine after compromising on a series of decisive moves from Alex Albon, George Russell and Antonelli. Britton benefited from the long scraps for Piastri and Verstappen’s lead, bringing him closer and by lap 15 he had also challenged the Dutch to the position.
Verstappen pulled the same defensive move, kicking Norris out of the road on the first turn, holding the inside line. He passed temporarily on lap 17, but the slow breaking move down inside turn 11 brought both cars onto the track and handed the spot to the final hairpin to avoid penalty.
On the next lap, he didn’t make the same error, nailing the brake zone and robbing Verstappen forever, and he recovered.
Meanwhile, Piastri made the most of his time in the clear air and extended his advantages in a long battle with his teammates. By the time Norris moved to second place, the Australian was in his nines.
Both made the sole stop during Haas’ virtual safety car, stopped by Oliver Baerman on lap 29, neutralising the potential strategic fight. Norris did a small event with his second stint on hard tires, especially while navigating lap traffic, but the gap proved insurmountable in the end.
Piastri scored the checkered flag in 4.6 seconds, claiming his third consecutive win and a fourth in the fifth round, extending his title lead to 16 points.
“Obviously, there was a bit of a haliguri in Turn 1. It helped me a little,” he said. “I knew there was a good pace advantage. Today, the car couldn’t believe it.
“I think the first stint was really, really strong. The hard (second) stint was honestly a bit of a struggle, so it was good to have that gap in the first stint. I’m so happy to keep Miami on top.”
Norris lamented his first lap fight for Verstappen dropping him out of the victory battle, but praised the team building a car that could bring his margin back to third place.
“The team did a great job,” he said. “I can’t blame them at all. Good pit stops, great pace, we were on the road. It was a good feeling.
Russell held back a fast finishing Verstappen after being promoted to third place with a cheap pit stop during the Bearman virtual safety car. Starting on hard, Britton finished the race in faster medium, but on the final 10 laps, momentum turned towards Verstappen’s hard tires, approaching within 1.5 seconds of Mercedes. He never got close enough to start the move, and Russell claimed his fourth podium finish with a 2.3-second advantage.
“I was pretty calm and I really felt good to keep him behind me in the car, so that was good,” Russell said. “I’m really happy to have got a P3 this weekend and because I’ve always struggled behind me, but when it was important, I got a good result today.”
Alex Albon was the great fifth, splitting Antoneri from his leadership after the pits stopped. The Mercedes driver stopped slowly and dropped him from the podium fight, but the pressure of Williams driver forced him to make a mistake from the Italian to his first turn. After that, Albon had a pace to hold the place of Merritt.
Antoneri finished sixth thanks to mismanagement of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the seventh and eighth time. Neither had the pace to capture Antonelli with vitality. Monegascu and Britton were frustrated in 7th and 8th place respectively.
Carlos Signe finished ninth in the double-teamed Ferrari driver after the pitt stopped. He tried to return to 8th from Hamilton on the final lap with the final hairpin, but clumsyly t-bows Ferrari, but both escaped unharmedly, and order did not change.
The Zonodas finished 10th in the final point with a buffer big enough to absorb a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Isack Hadjar came in 11th place ahead of Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin Teammates Fernando Alonso, Last of The Finishers’ Aston Martin Teammates and Lance Stroll.
Liam Lawson retired 36 laps after intense contact with Jack Doohan on the first lap that drove the Australian out of the race. Gabriel Boltreto joined Bareman on his retirement list due to engine issues.
