Piastri cruises to third consecutive victory ahead of Norris at Miami Grand Prix
- Meghana Sree
- May 4
- 4 min read
Written by Meghana Sree. Edited by Carl Hilliard.
Oscar Piastri stormed to a dominant sixth Formula One win as Lando Norris finished second to bring home a one-two for McLaren, with George Russell completing the podium.
After an exciting Sprint in the rain, Formula One in Miami continued the racing action into the Grand Prix which saw everything from intense wheel-to-wheel battles, teammate drama and the ever present threat of wet weather.
With Pierre Gasly starting in the pitlane, the starting grid was all set with 19 cars lined up. Drivers were greeted by dark clouds looming overhead, a sign of the expected rain that ultimately didn’t amount to much.
Max Verstappen on pole had a decent launch off the start but went elbows out against Lando Norris in an aggressive Lap 1 incident that knocked Norris down to sixth, but giving Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli the chance to challenge Verstappen for the lead.
Piastri immediately pounced on the opportunity, and delivered brilliant overtake attempts on Verstappen who showed even more impressive defence in an inferior car.
When Piastri eventually got the move done, he was able to pull an utterly dominant nine-second gap to P2, while his teammate rapidly climbed up the field to second.
Although Norris attempted to close in on his teammate, Piastri had better pace in clean air and eventually held Norris at bay to claim his third consecutive win this season.
Meanwhile, Verstappen was battling both his car and the charging Mercedes pair of Antonelli and George Russell.
A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) from Ollie Bearman’s engine failure allowed Russell to clinch the final podium spot, while those who had stopped earlier like Antonelli, who’d been having a hugely impressive weekend, were unlucky.
Also in the mix of the top five were the Williams drivers, who have had one of their most successful races in a while.
With Alex Albon finishing fifth and Carlos Sainz in ninth, but with pace to keep up with the likes of Mercedes, Williams have seemingly turned the page and put up a strong show of speed in Miami.
The Williams pair were caught up in a battle with each other too, with tension between the new teammates as Albon overtook Sainz against team orders in the early stages of the Grand Prix.
Another team with internal drama was Ferrari, who have had another disastrous Sunday this year. Lacking pace all through the weekend, bar the Sprint, Ferrari were struggling for confidence during the 57-lap race.
Charles Leclerc found himself stuck behind his former teammate Sainz, while Hamilton had to bide his time to hustle through the field from where he started in P12.
Eventually finding himself behind Leclerc in with better pace, he pushed for a swap. This led to some feisty radios, as he called out his team’s indecisiveness, quipping: “Have a tea break while you’re at it.”
The Ferrari pair eventually finished in seventh and eighth, Leclerc ahead of Hamilton after another swap between the two and Hamilton holding on to his position despite a risky late lunge from Sainz on the final lap.
The points were completed by Yuki Tsunoda, who managed to stay in the top ten after a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Isack Hadjar just nearly missed out on another points finish, but will be pleased to be the lead Racing Bulls car again — after his teammate Liam Lawson had to retire from floor damage due to contact with Alpine’s Jack Doohan in the opening lap.
Doohan was a victim of the contact too, and was the first retirement of the day. The Australian driver was hoping to finish ahead of Gasly who started from the pits and finished 13th, but his retirement today will definitely not help the rumours of his seat still floating around the paddock.
It was a disappointing weekend for Haas too, who had Esteban Ocon starting in the top ten but crossing the flag in 12th, along with Bearman’s early retirement.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto too had an early end to the Grand Prix after a mechanical failure on his car, which brought out the race’s second VSC. Nico Hülkenberg had a rather uneventful race on the other hand, stuck behind Gasly for most of the race.
The classified drivers were rounded out by the Aston Martin pair after a dismal weekend, Fernando Alonso’s woes continuing as he remains pointless well into the sixth race of the season.
Miami this year provided some exciting overtakes and plenty of talking points ahead of the European stage of the season, the primary one being Piastri’s complete, effortless control of the last few races.
Piastri now sits at 131 points, eking out his advantage over Norris with each round. Verstappen is still in third, but Russell is just six points behind the Dutchman — a story that’s sure to develop soon.
Delivering McLaren’s second straight win in Miami and now surpassing Norris in the number of total wins, Piastri was delighted after the race: “I won the race that I really wanted to. Yesterday was a tricky day, qualifying was probably one of my trickiest for the year and to come away with a win still on Sunday is an impressive result.”
Piastri’s charge for the title and his rivals’ attempts to outdo the McLaren’s performance will continue in Italy in two weeks’ time.
Miami Grand Prix Results
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren +4.630
George Russell, Mercedes +37.644
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +39.956
Alexander Albon, Williams +48.067
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +55.502
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +57.036
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +60.186
Carlos Sainz, Williams +60.577
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing +74.434
Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls +74.602
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team +82.006
Pierre Gasly, Alpine +90.445
Nico Hülkenberg, Kick Sauber +1L
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +1L
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1L
DNF Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
DNF Gabriel Bortoleto, Kick Sauber
DNF Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
DNF Jack Doohan, Alpine
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