Oscar Piastri claimed a commanding victory at the 2025 F1 Miami GP, overtaking Max Verstappen on Lap 14 and never looking back. Despite early threats from Verstappen and a late charge from teammate Lando Norris, Piastri maintained control to take the win and extend his championship lead. Norris recovered from a poor start to finish second, while George Russell completed the podium. Verstappen, after early contact and brake issues, faded to fourth, with Alexander Albon impressing in fifth. Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc followed, while Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz clashed late in the race, finishing eighth and ninth respectively.
Norris triumphs in F1 Miami Sprint, Verstappen secures pole for the GP race
Amidst mixed weather conditions across the weekend, the 2025 F1 Miami GP delivered relentless excitement, with both Saturday’s Sprint Race and the later Qualifying session packed with drama and surprises. In the rain-affected Sprint, Lando Norris triumphed in chaotic fashion, capitalising on a late safety car to secure victory ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton claimed third for Ferrari following a well-timed switch to slick tyres.
The race began behind the safety car due to heavy rain, and chaos ensued even before lights out, as Charles Leclerc crashed en-route to the grid and failed to start. Pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli lost ground at the start and later sustained damage in a pit lane incident with Max Verstappen, who received a penalty and ultimately finished last. As the track dried, tyre strategy proved decisive, and following a crash for Fernando Alonso, a late safety car froze the order and handed Norris the win.
Later in the day, Verstappen bounced back by seizing pole for the F1 Miami GP race, setting a new lap record despite an oversteer moment at Turn 1. Crucially, Norris joined him on the front row, just as he had done last year before claiming his maiden win, while Antonelli starred with a career-best P3, outqualifying teammate George Russell for the first time in a GP Qualifying session.
With the grid set and momentum shifting rapidly between title contenders, all eyes turned to Sunday’s main event.
Verstappen survives opening lap battle to claim early lead
After a heavy deluge earlier in the afternoon that caused the cancellation of the F1 Academy Race 2, concerns arose regarding the weather conditions heading into the 2025 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. However, following a break in the weather, the track appeared dry enough to allow the drivers to start on slick tyres. Although damp spots remained around the circuit and wet weather remained a risk throughout the race, an exciting and potentially unpredictable afternoon seemed likely.
As the countdown to lights out approached, Verstappen led the pack around the grid on the formation lap. The cooler-than-usual track surface, combined with lingering patches of moisture, complicated the drivers’ attempts to warm their tyres, prompting aggressive weaving as they returned to their grid boxes.
When the lights went out, Verstappen made a strong launch. However, he locked up, allowing Norris, Piastri, and Antonelli to challenge him into the first corners. Despite the early threat, Verstappen held on to his lead. Norris, on the other hand, emerged as the biggest loser, running across the apex at Turn 2 and falling to sixth. Antonelli advanced to second, while Piastri settled into third.
Further back, Doohan came to a stop after contact with Lawson. With Doohan unable to recover, Race Control deployed a Virtual Safety Car as the Alpine driver abandoned his A525 at Turn 14. Lawson dropped to nineteenth, behind Gasly, who had started from the pit lane and moved up to eighteenth. Despite his spin, Doohan managed to recover. Bearman, who started last, made progress to sixteenth, splitting the two Aston Martins.
Verstappen extends lead and Norris fights his way back up the order
Racing resumed on Lap 4. Verstappen extended his lead to 1.5 seconds over Antonelli, who began to feel pressure from championship leader Piastri. Norris reclaimed fifth from Albon, while Haas warned Ocon of rain expected within a few laps, potentially injecting further drama into the race.
Meanwhile, Sainz and Albon battled over sixth place. Although Albon initially lost position, he quickly fought back before Sainz ultimately prevailed. Race Control confirmed that no further action would follow the earlier incident between Doohan and Lawson. Likewise, no action was taken regarding the first-lap altercation between Verstappen and Norris.
Hamilton, meanwhile, passed Hadjar to claim eleventh and began his pursuit of Ocon. At the same time, Russell and Antonelli contested third. Norris, determined to recover, passed Russell into Turn 4 on Lap 7 to split the two Mercedes. He then set his sights on Antonelli, while Sainz and Albon turned up the pressure on Russell. Leclerc, running eighth, closed the gap to Albon but failed to make any real impact on the race.
By Lap 8, the battle for the lead intensified between Verstappen and Piastri. The latter closed the gap just as the threat of rain loomed. Verstappen defended robustly, keeping Piastri behind. Norris, pushing hard after his poor start, passed Antonelli to claim third. At the back, Alonso spun and dropped to eighteenth.
Piastri claims the lead after fierce battle with Verstappen
Into Turn 1 of Lap 11, Piastri and Verstappen went side by side. However, Verstappen once again held firm. With Norris gaining rapidly, Piastri risked losing his position. A lock-up on Lap 12 provided Verstappen with a brief respite, while Norris set the fastest lap as he joined the battle for the lead.
On Lap 13, Verstappen, reporting low grip, faced renewed pressure from Piastri, with Norris not far behind. While the front three battled, the rest of the grid experienced a relative calm. Then, on Lap 14, Verstappen ran wide at Turn 1, surrendering the lead to Piastri. Norris closed in on the Red Bull driver, who now struggled to defend against the McLaren duo. Verstappen, unhappy with his brakes, faced a challenging task.
Despite a wheel-to-wheel scrap, Verstappen retained second place and assured his team that Norris had not overtaken him during the contact. As the pair continued their duel, Piastri built a gap in the lead, taking advantage of the clear air. Verstappen continued to struggle, going wide again on Lap 16 but remaining ahead of Norris. Meanwhile, Piastri extended his lead and posted the fastest lap.
Norris passes Verstappen for P2
On Lap 17, Norris appeared to take P2 off-track. To avoid a penalty, he yielded the position back to Verstappen. Nonetheless, he stayed close, continuing to pressure the reigning World Champion. On Lap 18, Norris finally passed Verstappen cleanly and set off in pursuit of Piastri, who held an eight-second lead. Verstappen fell away from the leading fight.
On Lap 20, Bortoleto became the first driver to pit, as Russell reported imminent rain. He rejoined in eighteenth. Shortly after, Stroll also stopped. In the midfield, Ocon defended against Hamilton, who was running the more durable hard compound. Despite Ocon’s efforts, Hamilton eventually passed the Haas driver into Turn 17 to claim tenth and then began hunting Tsunoda in ninth. Ocon pitted for hard tyres on Lap 24 and rejoined sixteenth, ahead of Bortoleto.
On Lap 26, Antonelli and Sainz became the first front-runners to pit, both switching to hard tyres, with Antonelli retaining the advantage. Verstappen and Albon stopped on Lap 27. Albon rejoined just behind Antonelli and immediately challenged the Italian rookie. Now behind Verstappen, Antonelli chased the Red Bull, and the new tyres yielded immediate gains as several drivers set personal best laps.
Bearman and Bortoleto bring out successive Virtual Safety Cars
Bearman, meanwhile, suffered a technical issue and stopped on track, prompting a Virtual Safety Car. Hamilton capitalised, pitting under the caution. Leclerc, already past the pit entry, missed the opportunity. He stopped one lap later, while McLaren executed a clean double stack.
Russell pitted on Lap 30 but endured a slow stop and lost time as the Virtual Safety Car ended. Nonetheless, he rejoined ahead of Verstappen in third. Leclerc, however, did not enjoy similar fortune and exited behind Albon in seventh. On Lap 31, Albon overtook Antonelli for fifth. Sainz then passed Leclerc, demoting the Monegasque to seventh. Although Leclerc tried to recover, he could not pass Sainz, as Ferrari continued to struggle. Tsunoda received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Soon after, Bortoleto retired with engine issues, triggering another Virtual Safety Car.
As the field neutralised again, Sainz came under pressure from Leclerc. This allowed Hamilton to capitalise, jumping to eighth ahead of Sainz. Leclerc held onto seventh. However, Hamilton remained close, using DRS and his fresher medium tyres to pressure Leclerc. He asked Ferrari for team orders and was told to stay within DRS to fend off Sainz. Dissatisfied, Hamilton expressed frustration over the radio.
A battle for P7 between the Hamilton and Leclerc
On Lap 39, Ferrari instructed their drivers to swap positions, allowing Hamilton to pursue Antonelli, who was more than five seconds ahead. Leclerc, meanwhile, needed to hold off Sainz, who appeared the quicker of the two. Lawson, who had suffered damage in his earlier clash, retired. Gasly and Sainz were noted for a potential yellow flag infringement.
As the Ferrari drivers continued their battle—more vocally than physically—Norris up front began to chip away at Piastri’s lead. Following a high-intensity first half of the race, the on-track action began to settle. Drivers shifted focus to managing their pace and tyres, aiming to bring their cars home safely as the Miami Grand Prix entered its final phase. The biggest battle remained between the two Ferrari drivers, with Leclerc within DRS range of his teammate into Lap 48.
On Lap 53, Leclerc reclaimed P7 to attempt to chase down Antonelli. Further up front, Norris continued to bite into the gap to Piastri. An unhappy Hamilton was warned to mind Sainz behind.
Piastri extends championship lead after dominant McLaren performance
Ultimately, it was Piastri who sailed to the victory at the 2025 F1 Miami GP race, with Norris, despite his best efforts crossing the line more than four second behind. Mercedes’ George Russell finished third, more than 37 seconds off the race winner, and pole-sitter Verstappen finished fourth ahead of the impressive Albon in fifth. Antonelli led Leclerc off the line to claim
There was, however, some action between Hamilton and Sainz, with the two briefly coming together. Hamilton, however, survived to cross the line eighth, with Sainz behind in ninth. Race Control, however, referred the matter to the Stewards for investigation after the race. Tsunoda, despite his penalty, held on to P10, despite his penalty.
Full race results after the 2025 F1 Miami GP
- Oscar Piastri
- Lando Norris
- George. Russell
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Kimi Antonelli
- Charles Leclerc
- Lewis Hamilton
- Carlos Sainz
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Isack Hadjar
- Esteban Ocon
- Pierre Gasly
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
DNF: Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan
