The 2025 Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix was highly anticipated and mostly lived up to expectations.
The race began dramatically with intense wheel-to-wheel racing between pole-sitter Max Verstappen and championship leader Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris also featured prominently, recovering positions to move towards the front.
After 57 thrilling laps, the ever-impresive Piastri secured his third consecutive F1 win, his fourth this season, and his 32nd straight points finish, confidently extending his lead in the world championship.
The widely discussed and anticipated rain avoided the Hard Rock Stadium circuit. Three Virtual Safety Cars (VSCs), instead of a physical Safety Car that bunches up the field, meant the latter half of the race didn`t get the shake-up it might have otherwise. Nevertheless, there`s plenty to analyze.
With the demanding schedule, we are already one-quarter of the way through the Grand Prix season and have completed one-third of the six scheduled Sprint races.
18-year-old Kimi Antonelli was a notable positive story, securing pole for the Miami Sprint race and third on the grid for Sunday`s main event. He represents a promising future talent, even if he showed a bit of wildness and inconsistency in both races. He`s undoubtedly a quick study and will refine his approach.
Piastri: More Effective and Clinical than Norris
Norris`s Sprint race win was aided by a timely Safety Car, similar to his GP victory last year. However, on Sunday, having to swerve to avoid Verstappen`s sliding Red Bull in the first two corners of the main race compromised his chances of another outright win.
Determined not to let a McLaren get ahead into Turn 1 as in Jeddah, Max entered too fast, locking his front tires. Lando capitalized, cutting underneath and accelerating into clear track with the rest of the field behind him – a perfectly valid move. But another snap of oversteer from Max in Turn 2 pushed Lando, now on the outside, off track and cost him four places.
After passing Antonelli for second, Piastri aggressively pursued race leader Verstappen. Piastri possesses strong racecraft that is arguably slightly more effective and clinical than Norris`s, a fact Verstappen is aware of.
On lap 14, Piastri successfully pressured Verstappen into a defensive line for Turn 1, forcing him offline and deep into the corner, leading Max to brake too late. Piastri expertly anticipated the Red Bull`s developing slide, adjusted his line flawlessly, and swept past to take a lead he would hold to the finish.
Meanwhile, Norris stylishly made his way past Alex Albon`s Williams and both Mercedes cars driven by Antonelli and George Russell. However, Norris couldn`t apply the same tactical pressure on Verstappen as Piastri did. By the time he finally got past on Lap 18 (after briefly having to give the position back for an off-track pass on the previous lap), teammate Piastri was already nine seconds ahead.
In a weekend where McLaren achieved double one-two finishes across the two races (Sprint and main GP), a Virtual Safety Car triggered by Ollie Bearman`s stranded Haas proved perfectly timed. This allowed the team to execute a well-managed double-stacked pit stop just before racing resumed.
From that point, the two McLarens showed impressive pace, often a second per lap faster than their rivals. As Norris pushed to catch Piastri, the true, unhindered performance of the car on a long, dry run became apparent.
George Russell seemed to lack a couple of tenths of pace throughout the weekend, but he maintained composure, managed his car and tires effectively, and made a well-timed pit stop to secure another podium finish. He reported suffering painful stomach cramps in the final 15 laps, which nearly hampered his performance.
Russell also benefited from pitting under the VSC on lap 29, moving up to third. Max Verstappen challenged him closely in the final stages, even suggesting that George hadn`t lifted sufficiently under yellow flags.
Red Bull formally protested this after the race, but the Stewards dismissed it, stating `the protest is rejected and not founded`.
Albon: In the Form of His Life
Alex Albon secured fifth place after another strong and determined drive. Williams appeared to be the fourth fastest team in the race, reflecting their performance throughout the weekend. Except for a Safety Car technicality in the Sprint, Albon likely would have scored more points there as well, confirming he is currently driving exceptionally well.
Carlos Sainz in the second Williams had a more eventful race and carried damage from a first-lap incident with his teammate. Poor VSC timing for his pit stop meant he finished behind the two Ferraris. He even made contact with Lewis Hamilton`s Ferrari on the final lap with an optimistic lunge up the inside of the driver replacing him next season. No penalties were issued for the contact, as both drivers were deemed equally responsible for the `avoidable contact`.
Antonelli finished sixth, unfortunate to have pitted just four laps before the VSC. Predictably, he still needs to refine his tire management, particularly during longer stints in hot conditions.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished seventh and eighth, respectively, after swapping positions amidst considerable radio communication tension. Leclerc finished a full 57 seconds behind the leader in the 57-lap race, clearly indicating Ferrari`s significant pace deficit on a challenging weekend.
Hamilton started on hard tires and finished on mediums, while Leclerc did the reverse strategy. When their paths crossed, Hamilton, catching his teammate quickly, expected to be allowed through promptly, but the team hesitated for three laps.
While broadcasting some radio calls globally might be considered unfair, it`s undoubtedly a significant part of the F1 spectacle and intrigue. Lewis`s remarks, like `take a tea break` and implying `do you want me to let the Williams cars past too?`, were certainly memorable, though the team and drivers presented a united front post-race to diffuse the situation.
Leclerc was eventually allowed back past Hamilton, whose medium tires were degrading, but he couldn`t close the gap to Antonelli by the finish.
Yuki Tsunoda secured tenth place for RB, holding off Isack Hadjar`s VCARB despite receiving a five-second penalty for pit lane speeding. This result meant that points were shared exclusively among five teams: McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, and Ferrari, with each placing two cars in the top ten.
Aston Martin were notably the slowest cars in the race. Unless they introduce significant upgrades very soon, it appears it will be a challenging and difficult season for the Silverstone squad, which is disappointing for the sport.
There`s a week`s break now before the F1 season heads to Europe for a triple-header of races: Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona.
