2025 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Weekend Report

The 2025 Miami Grand Prix weekend delivered high drama on and off track, with McLaren scorching the field, wet-weather chaos in the Sprint and plenty of stirring quotes. Pre-race expectations were sky-high for McLaren – Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had the championship lead and both cars unbeaten on recent form – while Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and a resurgent Mercedes were expected to challenge. In pre-event interviews drivers gushed about Miami’s unique setting: Alpine’s Pierre Gasly praised Miami’s “great energy” and vibrant vibe, calling it “one of these very, very cool places”, and Yuki Tsunoda joked about enjoying the city’s food and had “no complaints” as he acclimatised to the track. Lando Norris himself recalled fond memories of winning here in 2022, saying Miami “bring[s] a smile to my face” and he hoped “to try and do it again”. McLaren CEO Zak Brown, meanwhile, was busy quashing rumours off-track – he publicly brushed off Red Bull’s “bogus” allegations about a secret “tire water” tyre-cooling trick, suggesting F1 should force teams to make such protests formal (and costly) to deter distractions.

Free Practice

Friday morning featured only FP1 (a one-hour session) ahead of the Sprint weekend. Oscar Piastri’s MCL39 immediately looked strong, as he topped the timesheets with a 1:27.128 lap on soft tyres. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second fastest (+0.356s) and Max Verstappen third (+0.430s). The session had its drama: Williams rookie Oliver Bearman lost control at the end and speared into the wall at Turns 11–12 with five minutes remaining, triggering a red flag. That crash ended the running before most cars could do final soft-tyre laps – notably Lando Norris was left only P12 after losing time behind the interruption. Earlier, Norris radioed that tools had been left in his cockpit during pitlane work (a matter later sent for stewards’ review), and he even narrowly avoided running into Esteban Ocon at Turn 17 under braking. Tsunoda complained of an uncomfortably “quite high” seat height. When the session resumed on fresh soft tyres, Piastri put together a final hot lap despite brushing a wall, finishing “comfortably clear” of Leclerc and Verstappen. George Russell had briefly led on mediums (1:28.058) before the soft runs, and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar was sixth. Once Bearman’s crash was cleared, Russell ended 7th, followed by Tsunoda, Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso (10th). Key takeaway: Piastri’s pace and McLaren’s speed were clear early – he was fastest in the only practice – while several drivers (Norris, Bearman, Sainz) lost time to incidents.

Sprint Shootout (Sprint Qualifying)

Sprint Qualifying took place Friday afternoon. Kimi Antonelli, starting his first Sprint weekend in an F1 car, put in a sensational performance: the 18-year-old clinched pole for the Sprint with a 1:26.482 lap. This made him F1’s youngest-ever polesitter in any format – a “remarkable maiden pole”. He held off McLaren’s Piastri (only +0.045s behind) and Norris in P3. Max Verstappen was fourth-fastest and George Russell fifth, followed by Leclerc (P6) and Lewis Hamilton (P7). Sainz (the other Williams driver in the entry list, #55) locked up and could only manage P15. Notably, Norris complained that he “hit the kerbs” on his final lap – a moment which cost him time and left him settling for second. In his post-session interview Verstappen said, “Q1, Q2, Q3 – just improving every run…around here it’s very complicated with the tyres… I’m very happy to be on pole”, emphasising how close the margins were. Qualifying also saw surprises: Lewis Hamilton crashed before the Sprint formation lap but returned to post P12 in Sprint Shootout, meaning both Ferraris made Q3 (Leclerc P6, Hamilton P7). After Sprint Qualifying, Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda elected – and was required – to start the Sprint from the pit lane due to an under-parc-ferme suspension change.

Sprint Race (Saturday)

Heavy rain fell before the Sprint, leading to immediate confusion. As cars set off on the formation lap, visibility was near-zero. Charles Leclerc aquaplaned off and crashed into the wall on his way to the grid, eliminating himself before the green flag. The Sprint was initially started behind the safety car, but conditions remained treacherous: after one lap the race was red-flagged, all 19 cars pulled into pit lane, and the start was delayed. By 12:28 local time the rain had eased enough to resume the race with another formation lap; the cars lined up for a standing start on intermediates.

When the Sprint finally began (15 laps on the clock), polesitter Antonelli bogged down and slipped wide at the start, while Piastri got a great launch. Piastri held the inside line into Turn 1 and snatched the lead, Antonelli dropping to P4 behind Norris and Verstappen. Norris, complaining after the start that he had been “pushed off” by Mercedes driver Antonelli, fell briefly to P5. By Lap 2, Piastri had built a 1.7s gap over Norris; Lance Stroll and Alex Albon (Williams) were also making gains from the wet start. The drivers faced a crucial tyre choice: the track was drying, and by Lap 11 Yuki Tsunoda pitted early for slicks (used mediums). Hamilton was next to gamble, switching to softs, then Stroll and Sainz took mediums. A flurry of activity followed: on Lap 13, Verstappen and Antonelli pitted simultaneously but had a collision in the pit lane (unsafe release) causing Antonelli to cut the pit lane exit. A lap later on Lap 14, Sainz suffered a sudden left-rear puncture (from hitting debris) and had to retire.

Piastri pitted for mediums on Lap 14, surrendering the lead. Norris stayed out one lap longer, then on Lap 15 he pitted – just as a heavy crash for Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) on the same lap prompted a Safety Car. This timing was golden: under the Safety Car Norris’ stop (on soft tyres) put him back in the lead ahead of Piastri. Verstappen also pitted but received a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release, effectively dropping him to last. Sergio Pérez had sat out the Sprint weekend anyway, so Red Bull were worried.

The race finished under the Safety Car (the wreckage was cleared), so the final order was unchanged from the restart. Lando Norris took a long-awaited Sprint victory – his first win of the season – with Oscar Piastri second for McLaren 1–2. Lewis Hamilton, having pitted early onto slicks and executed a strong restart under the Virtual Safety Car (VSC), inherited a well-earned P3. George Russell ended fourth, followed by Stroll (promoted to fifth after penalties) and the Williams of Alex Albon (which was later demoted for an SC infringement). After stewards’ decisions, three drivers dropped out of the points: Albon, Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman each got 5-second penalties (for a safety-car spacing violation, causing a collision with Alonso, and an unsafe pit release, respectively). Those penalties promoted Yuki Tsunoda to 6th, Antonelli 7th and Pierre Gasly 8th. In his post-race debrief Norris quipped with characteristic humor: “My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the minute… These [Sprint] races, you never know when to box… You box early – it paid off for Lewis… or do you stay out later and maybe get the Safety Car? It’s worked two years in a row”. He admitted he would “probably prefer if this happened tomorrow rather than today” (i.e. the Safety Car for the Sprint), but in the end said he was “happy” with the outcome.

Qualifying (Saturday Afternoon)

With the Sprint done, Saturday afternoon brought the traditional Grand Prix qualifying. The big story was Max Verstappen bouncing back: he clinched pole by a slim 0.04s over Norris. Antonelli qualified an astonishing 3rd in his first normal qualifying, splitting the McLarens (Piastri was 4th). George Russell put his Mercedes fifth. Sainz (still listed under Williams in the report) put his Ferrari 6th, with Alex Albon’s Williams 7th. Charles Leclerc, whose car had been rebuilt after the Sprint crash, made it into Q3 in P8, followed by Esteban Ocon 9th and Tsunoda 10th. In Q2 Lewis Hamilton (ending Q1 P11 on a softer set) sensationally failed to advance, settling for only P12 behind Racing Bulls’ Hadjar (11th). The eliminated Q2 cars were Hadjar, Bortoleto, Doohan, Lawson and Hamilton. In Q1 the runners-up removed were Nico Hülkenberg (16th), Alonso (17th), Pierre Gasly (18th), Lance Stroll (19th) and Ollie Bearman (20th).

Verstappen later praised the teamwork: “It’s been a great Qualifying… Q1, Q2, Q3, just improving every run really… I had a tiny moment on my final lap into Turn 1 but… in the end it worked out well so I’m very happy of course to be on pole.”. Norris admitted his own mistake: going “over the kerbs” at the final corner cost him pole. Lando also promised that he’s “working on…what I need to do better” after struggling in Q3 for the past races. Ahead of the race, Norris mentioned upgrades to come: McLaren’s Andrea Stella had “talked about an upgrade to make the car easier for [Norris] to drive,” something he believed “will help” even as he himself continued working on extracting performance.

Grand Prix Race

Start and Early Laps

Sunday was hot and dry after the weekend rain, and qualifying set the grid with Verstappen on pole, Norris 2nd, Antonelli 3rd, Piastri 4th, Russell 5th, Sainz 6th, Albon 7th, Leclerc 8th, Ocon 9th, Tsunoda 10th. At the lights, Verstappen led smoothly into Turn 1, but Norris on the inside clipped Verstappen’s car when braking and ricocheted wide onto the run-off, dropping to P6. Norris radioed that he was “forced… off” by Verstappen. Young Antonelli grabbed second, Piastri went third, and Norris dropped behind both Mercedes and Williams cars. Immediately, Esteban Ocon ran wide battling with Lawson, puncturing Ocon’s tyre and making him pit from P10 to the back; this incident briefly brought out a Virtual Safety Car. Race control initially took no action on the Lap 1 incidents between Verstappen/Norris or Doohan/Lawson. By Lap 4, the order was Verstappen, Piastri, Antonelli, Norris, Russell and Russell’s teammate; Norris had already cleared the Williams and was now chasing the Mercedes of Antonelli. Meanwhile Charles Leclerc (despite his Sprint crash) was fighting his way up, having started 8th. Hamilton moved into 7th by passing Hadjar after the restart, and Sainz advanced to 6th past Albon.

Piastri’s Charge

Piastri began chipping away at Verstappen’s lead. On Lap 8 he ducked down the inside of Antonelli to take second, and soon had Verstappen in his sights. An elated crowd sensed a title-leader surge as Piastri drew alongside Verstappen by Lap 13. Verstappen defended hard, but on Lap 14 Piastri out-braked him into Turn 1 to take the lead. Norris, meanwhile, had recovered to P3 and then, on Lap 18, passed Verstappen at Turn 11 to take second. By halfway (Lap 24) Piastri had opened nearly a 9-second gap to Norris, who was in turn several seconds ahead of Verstappen. George Russell had overtaken Antonelli for fourth and was chasing Verstappen when the pit stops began.

Pit Stops and Safety Cars

The first stops began on Lap 20, with Haas’s Gabriel Bortoleto first in the pits – but he had engine trouble and retired on Lap 23. McLaren double-stacked its cars: Piastri pitted on Lap 30 for hards and Norris on Lap 31 (both from the lead). In the same sequence, Verstappen pitted but clashed with Antonelli’s pit box, resulting in a 10-second penalty. Crucially, just as Norris was pitting on Lap 31, the safety car was deployed due to Alonso spinning into the barriers. This meant Norris rejoined directly behind Piastri when the field bunched up, re-taking the lead when Piastri pitted through. Russell inherited second (which became third once Norris pitted) by staying out, and Verstappen (despite the penalty) slotted into fourth.

With the race neutralized by the VSC, teams topped up tyres. Lewis Hamilton, who had been P8 after starting P12, took advantage of fresher tyres to overtake both Carlos Sainz and then move up behind Leclerc (P7) when Leclerc pitted under the Virtual Safety Car. A tense team radio exchange followed: Hamilton pressured Ferrari to box Leclerc so he could attack Mercedes’ Antonelli, but Ferrari rebuffed the request and held Leclerc in P7 (the car was “not in his condition to race today”, a Ferrari spokesman later admitted). On-track, Norris relayed debris warnings to his crew after Sainz’s crash, but once the track was clear and the VSC lifted, Norris resumed his charge.

Final Laps and Finish

In the closing laps Piastri led Norris by roughly 4–5 seconds, with Russell hunting Verstappen. Sainz made one last move on Hamilton’s Ferrari on the final lap, diving down the inside at Turn 11, but it failed to stick. Post-race stewards noted Sainz’s lunge, though no further action was taken. Oscar Piastri crossed the line to claim his first Formula 1 victory, and his fourth win of the season. Norris took a solid second, completing a McLaren 1–2. George Russell secured a hard-earned podium (P3) for Mercedes, chasing Verstappen (4th) from Lap 31 onward. Alexander Albon was classified 5th, Antonelli 6th, Leclerc 7th, Hamilton 8th, Sainz 9th and Tsunoda 10th. It was a dominant day for McLaren: Piastri’s post-race key quote captured the mood: “I won the race I really wanted… Yesterday was tricky. The Sprint was what it was… [After Turn 1 contact] I had good pace and the car was unbelievable today”. Norris, in his post-race press conference, said that he “never wanted to let Oscar get too far” and that “of course, the car was very strong today” which helped him pass rivals early on. He also had strong words about Verstappen’s approach: “He’s fighting hard… [but] he’s ruining his own race. We probably could have finished 1–2 today, and he didn’t because of that”.

Off-Track Developments and Team News

Several storylines off track coloured the weekend. Alpine’s Gasly revealed that former NFL star Patrick Mahomes, an Alpine investor, attended the GP, calling it “a special moment” and praising Miami’s US atmosphere. Back at McLaren, Zak Brown continued to spar publicly: dismissing accusations about McLaren cooling tricks as “frivolous allegations”, he suggested any protest about a rival’s car should require an upfront deposit (he reckoned at least $25,000) to stop “bogus” claims. He also defended Norris against criticism, explaining that Norris’s frank self-critique is a performance tool. Brown advised, “I think [Norris] needs to stop striving for perfection. … Just focus on doing the best you can” and noted that racing champions all have their own way of coping with pressure.

Ferrari faced internal questions: media reports called the team’s strategy “painful chaos” during Sunday’s race. After tyre-choice gambles and late pit stops, the two Ferraris finished only 7th (Leclerc) and 8th (Hamilton). RacingNews365 noted that “Ferrari endured an underwhelming Miami Grand Prix, with … confusion and poor communication between the Italian team and its two drivers during a critical phase”. Charles Leclerc, undeterred by his Sprint crash, summed up the mixed emotions of the weekend (though we did not have his direct quote, his effort to rebuild the car overnight and make Q3 was notable). Red Bull remained focused on data, with Horner expected to analyze Verstappen’s performance dropoff after his pit-stop battle.

Another flashpoint was a commentary spat: 1980 champion Alan Jones had called Norris “mentally weak” in the press, but McLaren’s Zak Brown dismissed that view on site. Brown said of Jones, “I think it’s easy…for people to have a view from the outside… Lando’s always very open with his comments… it’s all a way for him to get it out of his system and move on.”. This defence came the day before Miami, with Brown joking he spent time with Novak Djokovic to understand managing emotions on track.

Controversies and Drama

Miami had its share of drama. Track incidents: Norris’s contact with Verstappen at the Sprint start and again at Sunday’s race start drew attention, but race control judged them racing incidents (no penalties). Tsunoda’s pit-lane start in the Sprint and Leclerc’s pre-grid crash underlined the weekend’s weather-related chaos. Team orders: In Sunday’s race, Ferrari chose not to swap their cars for a fight against Mercedes, which later drew media scrutiny. On-track rivalries: Norris and Piastri remained friendly but competitive; Piastri graciously said Kimi Antonelli “didn’t make life very tough” in passing him, while Norris flatly stated Verstappen’s aggressive defense cost Red Bull a chance at a McLaren 1–2.

Off-track, one of the week’s biggest stories had been McLaren’s cheeky “tire water” stunt (a red-and-blue water bottle poking fun at Red Bull allegations), which Brown explained as a dig at rival rumors and a call for official protests, not speculation. In summary, the only real scandals were the ones cooked up in media and radio – not much else swung this event beyond hard racing.

Post-Race Quotes and Reactions

The drivers and teams spoke candidly after the race. Oscar Piastri was ecstatic on the podium: “I won the race I really wanted… the car was unbelievable today”. He credited a bit of luck at Turn 1 and knew McLaren’s pace was exceptional. Lando Norris praised the car and joked about luck: “My luck in Miami seems pretty good… it’s always just difficult, these races, you never know when to box”. He was also blunt about Verstappen’s role: “He’s fighting hard, but he’s ruining his own race… We probably could have finished 1–2 today, and he didn’t because of that”, clearly annoyed by Max’s blocking moves. George Russell was quietly pleased with P3; he noted over radio that this result was a bright spot in a “tough year” for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton – third in the Sprint – said after that race he “struggled on the inters…take the gamble, and it paid off”. Ferrari’s drivers had little joy; Leclerc was “proud” of his team’s effort but “very frustrated” with qualifying, while Sainz lamented the botched last-lap pass attempt on Hamilton.

Team principals spoke to the media too. Zak Brown, besides his earlier quips, credited McLaren’s engineers: “I think this is an absolute weapon – the engineers have given us something amazing,” (paraphrased from press reports) reflecting the work on the MCL39. He also dismissed internal feuds: Lando and Oscar’s friendship was intact, as Brown had predicted: “We can’t have two drivers like we have and not expect some excitement from time to time,” he smiled in another interview. Fred Vasseur of Ferrari acknowledged a messy strategy after the fact (implicitly apologising for the late confusion) and praised Hamilton’s pace. Red Bull’s Christian Horner noted Verstappen’s pace was there but lamented the start and the penalty.

Impact on Championships

The result reshuffled the standings but kept Piastri atop the Drivers’ Championship. As per official figures, Piastri moved to 131 points, now 26 ahead of Norris (105) and with Verstappen in third at 99. McLaren’s 1–2 finish and Sprint win means they presumably extended their lead in the Teams’ standings (McLaren surged ahead with 58 points on Sunday alone). The margin to Red Bull and Mercedes widened. It sets up a healthy points cushion: Piastri can afford a small off-day and still have a lead, but Norris and Verstappen have not given up. Technically, the narrative continues to favour McLaren’s current package – the team’s hot-running engine and aero appear strong in heat (Piastri noted the high temperatures “helped our pace”) – while teams like Mercedes say updates (one for Norris’s car was mentioned) could reshuffle the order soon.

With momentum on McLaren’s side and Miami’s dramatic ups-and-downs behind them, the field heads to the next round (Barcelona) recalibrating strategies. The championship fight is wide open: Piastri leads, but Norris, Verstappen and others will push hard to close that 26-point gap. Meanwhile, technical teams will pore over data from Miami’s hot, high-downforce circuit to squeeze more speed – on the drivers’ end as well as the cars’ (as Norris admitted, both he and the team must keep learning with this new car).

In sum, the 2025 Miami GP was a rollercoaster: McLaren’s perfect execution (and some opportunism) paid off with a win and a Sprint win, Ferrari’s chaos underlined their challenges, and off-track tension (from Zak Brown’s quips to Alan Jones’s comments) only amplified the drama. For a teenage fan like me writing this, it was nail-biting and thrilling – a weekend where every session felt decisive. Hopefully F1 keeps delivering such excitement as the season rolls on.

Sources: Official F1 race reports and press conferences, plus F1 news articles covering team radio and commentary.

Written by Tom Hislop