McLaren’s Oscar Piastri triumphed in the Miami Grand Prix by securing his fourth victory of the season, surpassing his teammate Lando Norris in a thrilling race.
Piastri, who finished nearly five seconds ahead, clinched victory over British teammate Lando Norris, while George Russell of Mercedes secured third place, 37.6 seconds behind.
This win marks Piastri’s third consecutive victory following his earlier triumphs in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, accumulating four wins in the first six races of the season.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who started on the pole, ended up in fourth place, with Williams’ Alex Albon and Mercedes’ young talent Kimi Antonelli completing the top five.
“I was aware enough to avoid Max in the first turn, and from there, I knew I had a strong pace advantage,” Piastri stated. The car was phenomenal today. Though I struggled a bit with the harder compound, there are improvements to be made. But I’m thrilled to leave Miami as the leader.
“Two years ago, we were the slowest team here, possibly lapped twice; now, we’ve won by 35 seconds,” he added.
Starting from fourth, Piastri clinched the lead on lap 14 when Max Verstappen, who went wide at the first turn, was too late on the brakes. “Brakes, honestly, useless,” the Dutchman communicated over the team radio. Verstappen’s efforts to challenge for the lead were thwarted from then on.
Piastri’s lead was nine seconds when Norris, who attempted to catch up with Verstappen, overtook him on lap 17. “It’s never the best feeling to finish second, but the team has done an incredible job,” Norris admitted. “We’re further up the road than expected. Oscar drove well, Max put up a strong fight as always, so it is what it is. I paid the price for not performing well today, but still pleased to be second.”
Despite finishing behind Antonelli in qualifying, Russell expressed satisfaction with his third-place finish, especially after his personal struggles during the weekend. “Really happy to finish with P3, as I’ve been struggling personally. Congratulations to McLaren; they were just too far ahead,” he remarked.
Ferrari experienced another frustrating day, with Charles Leclerc finishing seventh and Lewis Hamilton in eighth place. Hamilton, in his first year with the Italian team, often censured his team’s tactics during the race, especially after being instructed to let Leclerc pass.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz faced a steward investigation following a tense attempt to overtake Hamilton in the final corner, resulting in a clash of wheels.
