Oscar Piastri extended his championship lead by winning the Miami Grand Prix from fourth on the grid.
He passed Max Verstappen and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, then led home team mate Lando Norris for his fourth grand prix victory of the year.Piastri got ahead of his team mate at the start of the race when Norris went wide in turn two while trying to pass Verstappen. The Red Bull driver had run deep at turn one while trying to defend his lead from pole position, then twitched wide as Norris drew alongside him in turn two, sending the McLaren driver off the track.
Norris fell to sixth as he rejoined. He immediately protested Verstappen’s driving on the radio but the stewards chose not to investigate.
Piastri picked off Antonelli early on, then closed in on Verstappen. He tested the leader’s defences several times and eventually provoked Verstappen into running deep at turn one, taking the lead from him.
After losing the lead to Piastri, Verstappen immediately had Norris filling his mirrors. The second McLaren took longer to get past him – the pair ran wide at turn 11 at one point, Norris emerging ahead, but correctly relinquishing his position at turn 17. The next time around Norris made another bid for second at turn 11. This time Verstappen hardly bothered to defend and Norris was by, but leader Piastri was now nine seconds up the road.
Antonelli drew within range of Verstappen and headed for the pits in an apparent attempt to ‘undercut’ him. A slow tyre change put paid to those hopes, but Red Bull brought Verstappen in soon afterwards anyway to ensure he kept his position.
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However when a Virtual Safety Car period was triggered on lap 29 by Oliver Bearman’s retirement, Mercedes pounced on the chance to bring George Russell in. He emerged narrowly ahead of Verstappen, on medium rubber to his rival’s hards, and was able to edge clear.
McLaren also used the VSC to pit both their drivers without drama. After the restart Alexander Albon attacked Antonelli and took fifth place off him.
Following another VSC period, caused by Gabriel Bortoleto’s retirement, the two Ferrari drivers passed Sainz. This gave the Williams driver a front row seat to observe his former team agonising over their team orders. First Hamilton was told to pass Leclerc, then the positions reversed again, following which Leclerc gave chase to Antonelli for sixth.
While Leclerc fell short of catching Antonelli, Sainz attacked Hamilton on the final lap, the pair making contact at turn 17. The stewards will investigate that incident and Sainz is also under investigation for a potential yellow flag infringement earlier, as is Pierre Gasly.
Yuki Tsunoda took the chequered flag 10th and narrowly kept his position ahead of Isack Hadjar, after a five-second time penalty was applied to the Red Bull driver for speeding in the pits.
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2025 Miami Grand Prix
- Nothing for Ferrari to learn from Miami team orders episode – Vasseur
- Hamilton proud of Ferrari as ‘we’re taking a beating from media and people’s comments’
- McLaren legality never in doubt says Piastri as FIA’s post-race check clears car
- Albon did not disobey team orders in Miami says Vowles after Sainz’s complaint
- McLaren score their most emphatic win since Hamilton’s 2008 Silverstone triumph
T
4th May 2025, 22:37
i thought the critiques of Ferrari’s strategy were a bit overblown.
I am here to apologize and pick up my pitchfork.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
4th May 2025, 22:40
Every good drama needs some comical moments. Ferrari are the jesters of F1. Both swap calls too late.
Zim'sF1 Fan
5th May 2025, 1:45
Yeah me too.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th May 2025, 22:37
What a drive by Piastri, but yet again questionable driving by Max.
He clearly let his car slid towards Norris at T2.
Shhh
4th May 2025, 22:47
He seemed to be ahead of the start line in the sprint. Didn’t really see a replay or outcome of that it just went quiet. Then runs a driver off the road and it all went a bit quiet on that too.
Daniel (@dcnilas11)
4th May 2025, 23:13
Completely…
The single image I saw yesterday, clearly showed the car was not in the correct place. But then all just went quiet.
Today again, runs a driver off the road and nothing happened.
Riccard
5th May 2025, 9:03
Sky showed pictures, and even did an extra bit before the race where they showed both the lines on the grid walk and explained it like we’re five.
The Sky presenters are mostly British and would love a boost for Lando / George / Lewis, and even they’re just saying “yup, the rules are based on the white line, the yellow is just a visual aid for the drivers”.
Levente (@leventebandi)
5th May 2025, 0:35
:DDDDDDDDDDD
okay, now max is a drifter:D
Yes
4th May 2025, 22:42
I thought the FIA were getting harder on Verstappen evidently not. The other drivers are evidently trying to avoid collisions and dnfs. Awful driving.
erikje (@erikje)
4th May 2025, 22:54
Piastri is the real deal. Just look at his race craft and how me managed to make the pass on Max vs Lando who was trying for the easy DRS overtake. The championship lead grows again and Max takes a big step back.
What on earth happened to Ferrari. They ended last season as almost the fastest team pushing McLaren for the constructors.
Now they are 5th fastest! Shocking.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
4th May 2025, 23:00
He’s a real hater that’s for sure. I can’t believe how entitled he acts, and how after almost every race hes stabbing his teammate in between the lines he gives the commentators. C’mon Zak Brown and McLaren, get rid of him or shut him up please. Good grief. Maybe if Piastri was with McLaren when they really were sucking and earned his seat. But these days, it’s just prat. I don’t feel sorry for Lando, but if he knocked Piastri sideways, i wouldn’t mind.
OOliver
4th May 2025, 23:51
The season is still quite long but Piastri is going to cause Norris much depression.
Alberto
5th May 2025, 0:00
Both Lando and Piastri took the same amount of laps to pass Max once in DRS. Lando managed to get him twice before Max got the position again while Piastri couldn’t get ahead until Max made a mistake. I think people see what they want to see.
If Lando fights Max it takes him too much time if he doesn’t then people say he is too afraid. No one can deny Piastri’s uptick on his form this year however Max/Lando scrap made Piastri look good this race. Lando had the upper hand most weekend.
George
5th May 2025, 1:50
If it wernt for the Alonso crash in the sprint Piastri would have won that also
Toxic
5th May 2025, 4:41
Ridiculous comment about the overtaking, Piastri took much less time than Norris and you completely forgot that Norris was much closer to Max thanks to Piastri’s overtake attempts, also he had all the knowledge about how Piastri did it and Max’s tires at that point were in much worse chape than when Piastri was trying to overtake him.
He didn’t have the upper hand all weekend, they both made mistakes in quali and he was just lucky his wasn’t as bad. Piastri was much faster yesterday and once in front he was clearly just minding the gap to not let Norris come too close.
Francesco (@schivo69)
5th May 2025, 7:01
I think Max didn’t make a mistake, he made his usual ‘late breaking’ move, the difference is that Oscar wasn’t on the outside. This proves that Max always break too late to intentionally push the opponent out of the track. This time Oscar played him as Max thought he was trying on the outside.This is confirmed by Max’s statement: no one is going to pass me on the outside.
Addme (@dontme)
5th May 2025, 9:55
This is pretty clear. He reacts to the other driver, that’s why he drives them off the track. He doesn’t brake until they brake and forces them. Piastri did a great job of selling him one.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th May 2025, 10:13
Good point about both Piastri and Norris taking about the same time. I do think Max should have let Norris go earlier, in hindsight it would have probably saved him from dropping behind Russel who had the benefit of the VSC.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th May 2025, 2:21
It’s ferrari vs williams again, too bad it’s for a lowly 4th place, it’s nice to see williams improve, but it could be a mix of the 2.
F200 (@f200)
4th May 2025, 23:02
What a disgrace F1 has become, drivers driving long and heavy whales, midfield can’t hardly compete, +30 sec difference. A parade gives more emotion. On top of that is the endless hypocrisy on Max. What Piastri did on Antonelli was “superb” in the sprint race, while Max winning the corner was “unfair” so Piastri was waiting for Max being penalized. Ferrari, what a waste of resources.
Edvaldo
4th May 2025, 23:23
Max going off the track by himself looked really dumb, but that’s how he races.
He’s a great driver but the way he’s incapable of having a clean clash with someone is really annoying.
He only doesn’t do that when he’s much slower, but when he knows he has the speed to keep doing that indefinitely, he does, every time.
Leo B
4th May 2025, 23:29
Piastri is the one McLaren driver who does not have to be on pole to win a race.
I think it’s over for Norris as the No1 at McLaren. He may win races yet. But not titles.
Ferdi
5th May 2025, 9:40
I have to agree. He will take his share of wins & temporarily come back periods of greatness, given the advantage that car has, but No WDCs for Lando.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th May 2025, 10:16
I think it is far too early to call it. Sure, currently it certainly looks FAR more likely Piastri will continue to be on top, but we’ve seen now that on a green-ish or wet track Norris still has the advantage on tyre preservation, while Piastri seems to be the more deft at overtaking on track, in qualifying it really is tight between them, both have made too many small-ish mistakes there. Really not that much between them IMO.
Mooa42
6th May 2025, 2:06
plus also wins the race when he is on pole.
Currently has 100% pole to win conversion rate. Admittedly only 2 poles but still the highest ratio of any driver with more than one win. Unlikely to stay that way for too long and probably should have had at least another 2 poles already this year.
Paul A (@paul-a)
4th May 2025, 23:43
Those McLarens are, today, ahead of the field. Fast, reliable, driveable — two good drivers, solid pit-wall support. My congratulations on a superb one-two checkered flag.
But the results were predictable (I had Piastro, Norris, Verstappen; not sure if everyone will agree, but Russel might have got a tad lucky with yellow flags), so a bit boring. Not exactly a snooze fest, but close.
My main concern is that the mediatic coverage is going downhill. I normally get a pit-pass, but being Canadian I didn’t fly down to Miami, stayed at home and watched on TV — popstars, boxers, celebrity chefs, crypto, Martin B. doing his reluctant best to save a dog’s breakfast from F1, FIA’s billionaire’s approach.
Riccard
5th May 2025, 9:05
I suspect Miami and Vegas might have outstripped Monaco and Silverstone for celebrity appearances
Ferdi
5th May 2025, 9:42
Part of the Liberty Media approach. They are here for entertainment, not to cover a sport. That sport is just a vehicle for the show with which they make the money. Expect way more of this.
Edvaldo
5th May 2025, 1:07
That move on Max reminded me of Dovizioso with Marquez in RB Ring a few years ago.
The champion clearly bullying and trying to outmuscle the other contender and looking a bit foolish when the contender didn’t take the bait.
Piastri knows it doesn’t take much to win a race, so he had the patience to wait and push Max into desperation. Well played. He’s a changed driver this year.
Zach (@zakspeedf1team)
5th May 2025, 4:19
No I regret not staying up watching the whole race. Watching the highlights without knowing the result was pretty exciting this morning.
Ferdi
5th May 2025, 9:43
Thanks for the tip. Maybe I should do that form now on as the full race was boring as ….
SteveP
5th May 2025, 11:25
Seemed to be more action than many.
Action up and down the field, some good wheel to wheel racing, MV made the usual moves that spark debate, YT added to his point tally in RBR, FA spun for no apparent reason, LH nearly pulled off a two in one overtake and then advised the team about tea breaks.
MV continued the tradition/record of Miami pole sitters not winning
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
5th May 2025, 4:34
I would love to see thoughts from people who claimed McLaren isn’t dominant at all. Indeed, casually lapping 1s/lap faster than everyone else like in the “good” old Mercedes/Hamilton days isn’t a sign of dominance, right?
Mooa42
6th May 2025, 2:16
It appears their pace from testing in hot conditions and high deg, translates to real hot weather pace, but on low deg cooler conditions they come back to the field.
This sort of disparity between hot and cold on the same track isn’t something I’ve seen before, I wonder what the characteristic is that causes this?
Even with the .5 to 1 sec advantage it stills shows how hard it is to overtake.
Leo B
5th May 2025, 10:54
Max is savvy, as most champions are.
He is picking on Norris to bully because he knows Norris is a susceptible big girl’s blouse.
By contrast he respects Piastri because he is a rock.