At the Miami GP, an unpredictable Sprint race favors Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, less so for Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen: the race summary and results
A mixed-conditions Sprint race full of surprises at the Miami GP, where Norris claimed victory thanks to a perfectly timed Safety Car, finishing ahead of Piastri and Hamilton, who reached the podium with an excellent Ferrari strategy. Here’s what happened!
We didn’t even have to wait for the race to start for the first twist: the track was extremely wet and Charles Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari due to aquaplaning—broken suspension and game over for the Monegasque.
The race started thirty minutes later than scheduled due to poor visibility caused by heavy rain in Miami.
Piastri got off to a strong start and pulled alongside Antonelli at Turn 1, taking the lead. The polesitter ran wide and dropped behind both Norris and Verstappen. Hamilton couldn’t get past Russell, while Albon and Alonso completed the points positions at that stage. Noteworthy was Stroll’s great start, climbing to eleventh behind Lawson and Hadjar.
The front positions remained stable, with no driver within a second of the car ahead. The only notable action in the first half of the race came from Carlos Sainz repeatedly attempting to pass Esteban Ocon—first on Lap 5, then again on Lap 8—but Ocon held his ground both times.
Second half of the race: the track dries up…
The second half of the race proved far more eventful as the track dried. Starting on Lap 11, pit stops began with Yuki Tsunoda. Ferrari responded swiftly by calling in Lewis Hamilton, followed by Stroll, Sainz, and Bearman.
Chaos soon followed. Kimi Antonelli’s race took another hit when Verstappen received the green light to exit his pit box just as the Italian approached—resulting in contact. Antonelli was unable to pit, while Verstappen received a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release. At the same time, Sainz hit the wall, spun, and suffered a puncture.
At the front, Lewis Hamilton overtook Max Verstappen on track, and Norris closed in on Piastri. McLaren pitted the Australian first while he was still ahead.
Meanwhile, Alonso hit the barriers after being rear-ended by Lawson, prompting a Safety Car—perfect timing for Norris, who exited the pit lane in the lead.
There wasn’t enough time to clear Alonso’s Aston Martin, and the race ended under Safety Car conditions. Norris took the win ahead of Piastri and Hamilton. The points positions were rounded out by Albon, Russell, Stroll, Lawson, and Bearman. Verstappen dropped to sixteenth after serving his 10-second penalty.
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