Miami GP: Piastri Takes Third Consecutive Win

Oscar Piastri wins the Miami Grand Prix with a dominant drive, extending his Formula One championship lead to 16 points over Lando Norris.

Oscar Piastri dominated the Miami Grand Prix, leading McLaren to a one-two finish. He started fourth on the grid but delivered a flawless drive to secure his third consecutive win, following victories in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Piastri's win extended his Formula One world championship lead to 16 points over teammate Lando Norris, who finished second. George Russell completed the podium for Mercedes, finishing 37.644 seconds behind Piastri.

Piastri reflected on McLaren's remarkable progress, saying, “Two years ago at Miami we were the slowest team. I think we were lapped twice. Now to have won the Grand Prix by over 35 seconds to third is an unbelievable result.”

Max Verstappen had a challenging race, finishing fourth after being overtaken by both McLarens. This result continues a trend since the Miami Grand Prix's debut in 2022, where the pole-sitter has failed to win.

The rest of the top 10 was filled out by Alex Albon in fifth for Williams, followed by Kimi Antonelli in a Mercedes. The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Carlos Sainz scored points for Ferrari's sister team with a ninth-place finish for Williams, while Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10 for Red Bull despite a five-second penalty.

The Miami Grand Prix start was marked by a dramatic clash between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, with Norris attempting to challenge for the lead. Contact at turn two forced Norris off the track, causing him to lose three places.

“He forced me off,” Norris said over team radio, expressing frustration. “What am I meant to do? Just drive into the wall or something? I was completely alongside.” The stewards reviewed the incident but decided no further action was needed.

Lando Norris reflected on his battle with Max Verstappen, saying, “Max put up a good fight as always and I paid the price, but it's the way it is.” He added, “If I don't go for it, people complain. If I go for it, people complain, so you can't win. But it is the way it is with Max, it's crash or don't pass.”

Oscar Piastri capitalized on the virtual safety car period, passing Kimi Antonelli on lap four to move into second place. The safety car was briefly deployed after Jack Doohan's Alpine stopped at turn 14 following a collision with Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls.

Liam Lawson described the incident, saying, “I got completely hit. No idea what the Alpine was doing.” The collision left him last on the track, and he eventually retired from the race.

Lando Norris regained third place by lap nine, passing both Mercedes drivers as rain threatened. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri closed in on Max Verstappen and eventually passed him on lap 14 after several attempts.

Decent pic.twitter.com/xsDjUd8ifp

— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) May 4, 2025

Verstappen held off Norris until lap 17, when both drivers went off track. Norris handed back the position without needing stewards' intervention, saying earlier in the race “He forced me off... What am I meant to do? Just drive into the wall or something? I was completely alongside.” Norris later added, “Max put up a good fight as always and I paid the price... it's crash or don't pass.”

Both McLarens pitted during a virtual safety car period on lap 30, triggered by Ollie Bearman's Haas stopping with a power unit issue. Verstappen had pitted a lap earlier to cover after Kimi Antonelli's stop on lap 26. Another virtual safety car was deployed on lap 33 after Gabriel Bortoleto's Sauber stopped.

Hamilton and Leclerc's Battle

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc swapped positions on lap 39. Hamilton, on medium tires, complained he was faster but struggling with dirty air, saying he was just “burning up” his tires.

Hitting the griddy! 🕺

A fine celebration by @OscarPiastri 😅#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/bFCb6evuQL

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2025

Lewis Hamilton grew frustrated while waiting for Charles Leclerc to be instructed to cede position, saying over the radio, “Have a tea-break while you're at it, come on.” Leclerc later complained that Hamilton needed to drive faster as he struggled to pull away.

Hamilton and Leclerc briefly swapped positions, but the order was reversed again on lap 52. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen finished fourth, unable to overcome both McLarens and continuing a trend since the Miami Grand Prix's debut in 2022 where the pole-sitter fails to win.