Piastri Leads Dominant 1-2 Punch For McLaren At Miami

MIAMI, FLA. — Max Verstappen initially led from pole, and an early battle with Norris led to the Briton runing wide and letting Kimi Antonelli and Piastri through in the process. As the laps ticked down, Piastri overtook the Mercedes and Verstappen soon found himself under increasing pressure from the championship leader.

After Piastri eventually found a way past into the lead, a recovering Norris subsequently followed through into second, allowing the McLarens to build up a sizable gap at the front.

There was plenty of action behind the leaders throughout the the 57-lap event — but once again McLaren looked to be in a league of their own right to the checkered flag, where Piastri crossed the line by 4.63s from Norris.

Mercedes’ George Russell claimed the final spot on the podium in third despite being a whopping 37 seconds back from Piastri, highlighting McLaren’s commanding performance. Verstappen had to settle for fourth in the Red Bull, continuing the statistic of the Miami polesitter never having won the race.

Alex Albon was an impressive fifth for Williams, ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in sixth. The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, were seventh and eighth respectively, the pair having been involved in a lengthy team orders debate in the latter stages that saw Hamilton moved in front before the positions were reversed later on.

Hamilton held onto eighth despite a late-race scrap with the Williams’ of Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard remaining in ninth following the incident that will be investigated after the race. Yuki Tsunoda, meanwhile, grabbed the final point on offer in P10 for Red Bull.

Isack Hadjar narrowly missed out in 11th, the Racing Bulls driver finishing ahead of Haas’ Esteban Ocon in 12th and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly in 13th. The latter, along with Sainz, will be investigated for a possible yellow flag infringement after the race.

Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg claimed P14 for Kick Sauber, while Aston Martin had a challenging day at the Miami International Autodrome, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll the last classified runners in P15 and P16.

Four drivers retired from the event, with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson being forced to return to the pits while Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Ollie Bearman both sparked Virtual Safety Car periods after stopping out on track with mechanical issues.

Jack Doohan, meanwhile, saw his race end on Lap 1 following contact with Lawson, the Alpine driver pulling off the circuit after picking up too much damage to continue.