Oscar Piastri won the Miami Grand Prix in a stunning one-two finish for McLaren, finishing ahead of teammate Lando Norris and extending his lead in the championship to 16 points.
Starting from fourth on the grid, the Australian claimed his third win in a row—after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia—and his fourth in just six races this season.
Mercedes’ George Russell came home in third, but was a massive 37.6 seconds behind.
“Two years ago in Miami, we were the slowest on the track. I think we were lapped twice,” said Piastri. “To now win the race with such a big gap to third is just incredible.”
Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen finished fourth, keeping up the unusual Miami trend where no pole-sitter has ever won since the race began in 2022.
Williams had a strong race, with Alex Albon finishing fifth and Carlos Sainz taking ninth. Kimi Antonelli was sixth in the other Mercedes, ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda grabbed the final point in tenth despite a five-second penalty.
The start of the race saw early drama when Norris tried to challenge Verstappen for the lead but was forced off after contact at turn two, dropping him to fifth. “He forced me off. What am I meant to do—just drive into the wall?” said a frustrated Norris on the team radio. The stewards reviewed the incident but took no action.
Piastri passed Antonelli on lap four after a brief virtual safety car caused by Jack Doohan retiring his Alpine. Norris quickly recovered to third by lap nine, overtaking both Mercedes drivers, while Piastri began to challenge Verstappen. He eventually passed the Red Bull on lap 14 after several close calls.
Norris finally overtook Verstappen on lap 17, though both briefly went off track. He gave the place back before retaking it cleanly shortly after, by which point Piastri had already built a strong lead.
Both McLaren drivers took advantage of another virtual safety car on lap 30 to make their pit stops. Verstappen had pitted just before, trying to cover Antonelli, who had stopped on lap 26.
The safety car came out again on lap 33 when Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto stopped on track. Further down the field, Hamilton and Leclerc swapped places multiple times as both drivers voiced frustration over team strategy and tyre issues.
In the end, McLaren’s pace proved too strong for the rest of the field, capping off a remarkable turnaround from being the slowest team in Miami just two years ago.
