Month: May 2025

Oscar Piastri achieved his three consecutive victory of the season after leading home his McLaren teammate Lando Norris at the Miami Grand Prix.

The championship leader took the lead with a pass on Max Verstappen on lap 14 of 57 and underline his title credentials by winning, with Norris also passing the struggling Red Bull to salvage second after losing out at the start of the race.

Starting alongside Verstappen in second, Norris took the inside into Turn 1, but Verstappen held firm and nudged Norris into the inside Turn 3 runoff, which dropped the McLaren driver back to sixth. “He forced me off, what am I going to do, drive into the wall? I was completely alongside,” Norris complained, but the race stewards decided no action was necessary.

Contact between Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson at Turn 1 brought out the virtual safety car to remove debris, and after the lap 4 restart McLaren’s true pace advantage became true, with fourth-starting Piastri easily clearing Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Norris moving past Russell into fifth.

Piastri started attacking Verstappen for the lead soon enough and got the job done into Turn 1 on lap 14, having been patient around the outside and thereby forcing Verstappen into a mistake locking the front tyres.

Their battle allowed Norris to close and he also got past the defending champion, although he made harder work of it than his teammate. On lap 18 Norris initially passed Verstappen in Turn 7 but forced both cars off, handing the position back.

One lap later Norris sealed the move much earlier on the straight, and swiftly dropped Verstappen as the Red Bull struggled with tyre wear, embarking on a chase on Piastri, who had gained nine seconds thanks to Lando’s battle with Verstappen.

Antonelli and Russell ran third, while being put under pressure by Alex Albon.

The next virtual safety car came out for Oliver Bearman’s stricken Haas after the Ferrari power unit seized, which handed an advantage to those who hadn’t yet made their one and only pitstop.

A quicker pitstop cycled hard-tyre starter Russell out ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli in third, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton also benefitted to make a cheap switch from hards to mediums.

From the lap 30 restart onwards, Piastri comfortably protected his lead against Norris, who shaved off a few seconds but never looked like closing the gap to his teammate. Piastri crossed the finishing line with a 4.630 seconds lead on Norris to take his third consecutive win, with Russell snatching a podium in third.

Verstappen had to settle for fourth in the wake of the Mercedes driver, with Albon securing an excellent fifth for Williams ahead of Antonelli after having looked impressively quick all race.

Hamilton intended to use his quicker medium tyres to chase Antonelli, but was stuck behind hard-tyred team-mate Charles Leclerc for several laps, much to the seven-time world champion’s dismay, before finally being released. But Hamilton ran out of time to catch his Mercedes replacement, which led to Ferrari swapping the positions once more to let Leclerc retake seventh ahead of his annoyed teammate.

Carlos Sainz grabbed ninth for Williams after attempting a late but unsuccessful lunge on Hamilton into the final corner, followed by Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda received a five-second penalty, added to his race time, for speeding in the pits. However, as he crossed the line 5.1 seconds ahead of Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar, he just about managed to save his point.

Esteban Ocon was a distant P12 after a disappointing race for Haas, with Alpine, Sauber and a woeful Aston Martin outfit also leaving without points.

Gabriel Bortoleto followed Bearman into retirement after the Sauber driver reported crippling power unit issues, while Doohan’s and Lawson’s Turn 1 clash also led to terminal damage for both, bringing the number of retirements to four.

In the drivers’ championship, Piastri’s fourth season win extends his lead on Norris to 16 points. Verstappen now trails Piastri by 32 points in third, with Russell another six points in arrears.

The Formula 1 paddock resumes in two weeks’ time in Imola for what looks set to be the final edition of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix for the foreseeable future.

So a dominant race by McLaren by finishing first and second. Congratulations to Oscar Piastri in achieving his third consecutive win. He looks the favourite for the championship by this consistent race results.

Miami Grand Prix, race results:
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:28:51.587
2 Lando Norris McLaren +4.630s
3 George Russell Mercedes +37.644s
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull +39.956s
5 Alexander Albon Williams +48.067s
6 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +55.502s
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +57.036s
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +60.186s
9 Carlos Sainz Williams +60.577s
10 Yuki Tsuonda Red Bull +74.434s
11 Isack Tsunoda +74.602s
12 Esteban Ocon Haas +82.006s
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine +90.445s
14 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +1 lap
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1 lap
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1 lap
Liam Lawson Red Bull DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber DNF
Oliver Bearman Haas DNF
Jack Doohan Alpine DNF

Defending world champion Max Verstappen will start the Miami Grand Prix on pole position after defeating Lando Norris by a small margin of 0.065 seconds.

The Red Bull driver achieved his 43rd career pole in Formula 1. Andrea Kimi Antonelli continues to impress for Mercedes by being third fastest and edging ahead of Oscar Piastri.

In Q3 Verstappen set provisional pole with a lap of one minute, 26.492 seconds, just thousandths ahead of Norris and Piastri, which had more to do with neither McLaren driver finding gains rather than any Super Max heroics.

But Verstappen produced his magic to find the fastest time across the session, a lap time of one minute, 26.204 seconds, which was enough to fend off a late improvement by Norris, who appeared to lose his pole opportunity by bouncing over the inside kerb in the final corner.

What is more remarkable, Max made a mistake into Turn 1 on his final Q3 run and yet was able to set quality sector times despite the error. To take pole position is a fantastic achievement.

Russell was fifth for Mercedes ahead of excellent Williams duo Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc a low-key eighth position. Haas driver Esteban Ocon excelled to grab ninth ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in the Red Bull.

Piastri led the running in Q2 by two tenths over teammate Norris. Before the final attempt Russell found himself in the drop zone – despite on used tyres – declaring he had no confidence in his Mercedes, but his second lap was more than good enough to go through.

The same cannot be said of Lewis Hamilton, whose second lap was worse than his first, dropping the Ferrari driver out in P12 just 0.039 seconds off P10. Hadjar missed the cut by a mere 0.020 seconds in P11, while Gabriel Bortoleto took an encouraging P13 for Sauber.

Jack Doohan was the best of the Alpines in P14, followed by a disappointing P15 for Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson who suffered from a battery problem.

Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg just missed the cut in P16, ahead of Fernando Alonso, whose Aston Martin was repaired in time after his sprint race crash. Gasly was P18, ruing traffic on his final lap, with Lance Stroll and Oliver Bearman also eliminated.

So a better outcome for the four-time world champion after a time penalty and no points in the sprint race earlier. Max Verstappen achieved an important pole position in qualifying. Going to be interesting if the Red Bull has the race pace next.

Miami Grand Prix, qualifying positions:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:26.204
2 Lando Norris McLaren 1:26.269
3 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:26.271
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:26.375
5 George Russell Mercedes 1:26.385
6 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:26.569
7 Alexander Albon Williams 1:26.682
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:26.754
9 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:26.824
10 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1:26.943
11 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:26.987
12 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:27.006
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:27.151
14 Jack Doohan Alpine 1:27.422
15 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:27.363
16 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:27.473
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:27.604
18 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:27.710
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:27.830
20 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:27.999

McLaren driver Lando Norris was victorious in a chaotic wet-to-dry Miami Grand Prix sprint race, finishing ahead of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

The Saturday afternoon sprint was reduced from 19 to 18 laps due to the wet weather conditions, two of which were completed behind the safety car after a delayed starting procedure due to the lack of visibility.

After a 28-minute delay the race took place under a standing start, with maiden sprint polesitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli attempting to defend his lead from McLaren’s Piastri, with Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on the second row.

But as Piastri dived down the inside into Turn 1, Antonelli went off the track, dropping to fourth behind Norris and Verstappen, and just ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell.

From the front championship leader Piastri managed to control the race in relative comfort, taking care of his intermediate tyres while a dry racing line slowly but surely emerged. Norris started putting pressure on Piastri as they dispatched third-placed Verstappen in the Red Bull.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, who had started from the back, was the first to gamble for slicks on lap 11, providing valuable information to the rest of the field as they monitored Yuki’s lap times on medium Pirellis.

Having been lacking pace on inters, Lewis Hamilton was one of several cars to follow Tsunoda into the pits the following lap despite only six laps left to benefit from them, but their rapid race pace soon showed it was a gamble worth taking, with Hamilton moving up the order.

Verstappen and Antonelli both pitted for slicks on lap 13, but the pair made contact as the world champion was released unsafely into the path of Antonelli. Verstappen caught damage on his front wing, while Antonelli was forced to drive through without stopping in his box.

Hamilton’s searing soft-tyre pace also forced Piastri and then Norris to react by pitting for mediums, while a Fernando Alonso crash after contact with Liam Lawson caused a safety car.

Crucially, Norris just emerged from the pits ahead of Piastri, handing the McLaren driver the lead behind the safety car ahead of Piastri and Hamilton, who had passed Verstappen’s damaged Red Bull.

Verstappen was then handed a ten-second penalty for an unsafe release, which demoted him to down to P16.

Albon moved up to finish fourth for Williams ahead of Russell, with Lance Stroll taking a strong sixth for Aston Martin. Lawson was seventh for Racing Bulls after rocketing into the top ten at the start from his P15 grid spot, while Oliver Bearman took the final point in eighth for Haas.

After his contact with Verstappen, Antonelli had to come into the pits once again to take medium tyres, bumping him out of the points in P10.

Charles Leclerc was unable to make the start after crashing out on the way to the grid, aquaplaning off the road in his Ferrari while on intermediate tyres.

By defeating Piastri in the sprint, Norris reduces his championship deficit from ten to nine points.

So an eventful sprint race in Miami. Lando Norris gaining track position by pitting just as the safety car made an appearance. The same situation that occurred at last year’s race in which Lando scored his first win.

Miami Grand Prix, sprint race results:
1 Lando Norris McLaren 36:37.647
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.672s
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +1.073s
4 Alex Albon Williams +2.522s
5 George Russell Mercedes +3.127s
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +3.412s
7 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +4.024s
8 Oliver Bearman Haas +4.218s
9 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +5.153s
10 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +5.635s
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine +5.973s
12 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +6.153s
13 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +7.502
14 Esteban Ocon Haas +8.998s
15 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +9.675s
16 Jack Doohan Alpine +9.909s
17 Max Verstappen Red Bull +12.059s*
Fernando Alonso Aston Martin DNF
Carlos Sainz Williams DNF
Charles Leclerc Ferrari DNS
*Ten-second time penalty for unsafe release in the pits

Andrea Kimi Antonelli achieves his first career pole position in Formula 1 by taking the top spot for the sprint race at Miami. The Mercedes driver took a surprising P1 after beating the favourites McLaren. The Papaya pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had to settle for second and third.

Antonelli had looked quick throughout Friday afternoon’s sprint qualifying session and his late run to pole was enough to withstand a final run attempt by McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who qualified 0.045 seconds and 0.100 seconds behind respectively.

A thrilling conclusion to SQ3 saw the name at the top of the timesheets change more than once, with Max Verstappen initially beating George Russell’s benchmark – only for Antonelli to come through with an effort a time of one minute, 26.482 seconds.

Oscar Piastri fell short by just 0.045 seconds, while McLaren teammate Lando Norris had to settle for third ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull in fourth. Russell, meanwhile, will start from fifth, the Mercedes driver having set his SQ3 lap early in the segment.

The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will start from P6 and P7 respectively, followed by the Williams of Alex Albon in P8, Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls in P9 and Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin in P10.

Nico Hulkenberg will start P11 for Sauber ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Haas and Pierre Gasly. His Alpine teammate Jack Doohan was eliminated in SQ2 following a pitlane incident which proved to be awkward moment for the Enstone-based outfit.

The Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson is P14 while Carlos Sainz suffered a massive brake lockup and was unable to set a lap time in the Williams so will by in P15. Lance Stroll is P16 ahead of the unlucky Jack Doohan and Yuki Tsunoda. The latter making mistakes in the sprint qualifying for Red Bull.

Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Bearman are on the final row of the sprint race for Sauber and Haas respectively.

So congratulations to Kimi Antonelli in becoming the youngest polesitter ever – in any race format – in Formula 1. Going to be interesting if the Mercedes can achieve his first victory in the sprint race next.

Miami Grand Prix, sprint qualifying results:
1 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:26.482
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:26.527
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:26.582
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:26.737
5 George Russell Mercedes 1:26.791
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:26.808
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:27.030
8 Alexander Albon Williams 1:27.193
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:27.543
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:27.790
11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:27.850
12 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:28.070
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:28.167
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:28.375
15 Carlos Sainz Williams No time
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:29.028
17 Jack Doohan Alpine 1:29.171
18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1:29.246
19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:29.312
20 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:29.825