The 2025 Miami F1 Grand Prix was highly anticipated and largely met expectations, delivering a race filled with action and key talking points.
The opening stages were dramatic, featuring intense wheel-to-wheel competition between pole-sitter Max Verstappen and championship leader Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris also played a significant role early on, working his way forward after a challenging start.
After a demanding 57 laps, the increasingly impressive Piastri secured his third consecutive F1 victory, his fourth of the season, and marked his 32nd consecutive race finishing in the points, confidently extending his lead in the world championship.
The much-discussed potential rain shower bypassed the Hard Rock Stadium circuit. The deployment of three `Virtual Safety Cars` (VSC) instead of a full Safety Car meant the race didn`t get the mid-race reset that might have changed the strategic landscape, but there was still plenty to analyze from the proceedings.
With the Formula 1 season moving at a rapid pace, we are already a quarter of the way through the Grand Prix schedule and have completed one-third of the planned six Sprint races.
18-year-old Kimi Antonelli provided a bright spot with his pole position in the Miami Sprint race and third place start for the main Sunday Grand Prix. He`s a promising talent and a future star, despite being a bit aggressive and loose in both events. He`s expected to refine this as he`s clearly a quick study.
Piastri Demonstrates Superior Clinical Racecraft
Norris`s Sprint race victory benefited from a well-timed Safety Car, similar to his Grand Prix win last year. However, his chances for another main race victory were hampered when he had to take evasive action to avoid Verstappen`s sliding Red Bull in the first two corners on Sunday.
Verstappen was determined to prevent a McLaren from cutting inside at Turn 1 again, as had happened in Jeddah. He entered the corner too aggressively, locking his front tires. Lando went below him, seeing a clear path ahead with the rest of the field behind him – it was the logical move. But Verstappen had another moment at Turn 2, and Lando, now on the outside, quickly ran out of track, forced onto the runoff area and losing four places.
After passing Antonelli for second, Piastri aggressively pursued the leader, Verstappen. Piastri possesses excellent racecraft, which is arguably slightly more decisive and precise than Norris`s, something Verstappen seems aware of.
On lap 14, Piastri successfully pressured Verstappen into a defensive line at Turn 1, forcing him wide and late on the brakes. Piastri instinctively reacted to the Red Bull`s developing slide, adjusted his line perfectly, and slipped underneath to claim a lead he wouldn`t lose.
Meanwhile, Norris impressively worked his way past Alex Albon`s Williams and both Mercedes cars of Antonelli and George Russell. However, Norris wasn`t able to challenge Verstappen with the same tactical effectiveness as Piastri. By the time he finally made a definitive pass on lap 18 (having had to give the position back after an off-track move the lap prior), his teammate Piastri was already nine seconds up the road.
McLaren achieved a double one-two finish across the two Miami races. A well-timed Virtual Safety Car (VSC), triggered by Ollie Bearman`s Haas breaking down, proved advantageous for the team. They executed a perfectly spaced double-stacked pit stop just before the VSC ended and racing resumed at full speed.
From that point onwards, the two McLaren cars were significantly faster than the rest of the field, lapping a second quicker. Norris pushed to catch Piastri, demonstrating the car`s genuine pace on a long, dry run.
Russell had a challenging event, seemingly lacking a few tenths of pace. However, he maintained composure, managed his car and tires effectively, built solid momentum, and timed his single pit stop well to secure another podium finish. He was hampered by painful stomach cramps in the final 15 laps.
Russell also gained from pitting on lap 29 under the VSC, moving up to third place. Max Verstappen kept the pressure on him throughout the closing laps, even alleging that George hadn`t lifted sufficiently under a yellow flag.
Red Bull formally protested this after the race, but the Stewards dismissed it, stating the “protest is rejected and not founded.”
Albon Delivers Star Performance
Alex Albon secured fifth place after another excellent and spirited drive. This indicated Williams was the fourth fastest team on the day, consistent with their performance all weekend. A Safety Car technicality in the Sprint prevented Albon from potentially scoring more points there, highlighting that he is currently performing at his peak.
Carlos Sainz in the other Williams had a challenging race, carrying damage from first-lap contact with his teammate. Frustrating VSC pit stop timing meant he finished behind the two Ferraris. On the final lap, he made an ambitious attempt to pass Lewis Hamilton (the driver taking his Ferrari seat) on the inside, resulting in contact with Hamilton`s Ferrari. No action was taken against either driver for this “avoidable contact,” as they were judged equally responsible.
Antonelli finished sixth, experiencing bad luck by pitting just four laps before the VSC appeared. As expected, he needs to improve his tire management over longer, hotter race stints.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished seventh and eighth respectively after swapping positions and experiencing notable radio frustration. Leclerc`s finish 57 seconds behind the winner in a 57-lap race starkly illustrated how far off the pace Ferrari was on a difficult weekend.
Hamilton began the race on hard tires and finished on mediums, while Leclerc did the reverse. When their strategies converged, Hamilton, who was rapidly gaining on his teammate, expected to be allowed past quickly, but the team delayed the decision for three laps.
While broadcasting some radio conversations might seem unfair, they are undeniably part of the F1 spectacle and add intrigue. Lewis`s pointed remarks about taking “a tea break” and effectively asking if the team wanted him to let the Williams past too are now public knowledge, although the team and drivers later presented a united front to minimize the fallout.
Leclerc was eventually allowed to repass Hamilton as the latter`s medium tires started to fade, but he was unable to catch Antonelli in the final laps.
Yuki Tsunoda finished tenth for RB, holding off Isack Hadjar despite receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This meant that points were exclusively shared among five teams – McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, and Ferrari – with each placing two cars in the top ten.
Aston Martin was notably the slowest team in the race. Unless they introduce significant upgrades soon, it appears they face a challenging and disappointing year, which is a shame for the sport.
There`s a week break before the F1 calendar heads to Europe for a triple-header featuring races in Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona.
