Piastri and Norris Defeat Verstappen for McLaren 1–2 in Miami

McLaren stuns in Miami with a commanding 1–2 as Piastri leads Norris, leaving Verstappen behind and Ferrari struggling for answers.

All eyes on Miami as Verstappen and Norris prepare for battle, but looming storms could change everything in this high-risk showdown.

After an action-packed Sprint weekend, it’s time for the main event in Miami: the race. Over 300 kilometers of pure Formula 1 drama await, as we find out who will win the sixth Grand Prix of the 2025 season.

Max Verstappen starts from pole position for the third time this year, just 0.065 seconds ahead of Lando Norris. Sprint pole-sitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli lines up on the second row alongside Oscar Piastri, who qualified fourth.

George Russell and Carlos Sainz occupy the third row, followed by Alex Albon in the Williams, who outqualified Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda start side by side on the fifth row. Isack Hadjar begins from 11th, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari.

Gabriel Bortoleto impressed with a 13th-place start, marking Sauber’s second-best qualifying performance this season. Jack Doohan, whose future at Alpine is uncertain, delivered a solid 14th.

Liam Lawson placed his Racing Bulls car in 15th, ahead of Nico Hülkenberg in the Sauber. It was a nightmare session for Aston Martin, with both drivers eliminated in Q1. Fernando Alonso starts 17th, Lance Stroll 19th. They sandwich Pierre Gasly, while Oliver Bearman will start last in the Haas.

Weather could play a big role. The thunderstorms that hit Miami’s 305 area code on Saturday are forecast to return today. That could shake up the race strategy on a circuit already tricky when it comes to tire wear and technical precision.

At 9:15 p.m. local time, the FIA confirmed it has coordinated with Miami Gardens officials to implement safety protocols in case storms hit the Hard Rock Stadium area. In the U.S., lightning halts all sporting events, and Formula 1 will be no exception.

21:19 – Pierre Gasly will start from the pit lane after Alpine made changes to the suspension of his A525. Lance Stroll and Oliver Bearman each move up one spot on the grid.

21:24 – Most of Miami-Dade County is under a thunderstorm warning, though the circuit is not affected yet. However, rain showers are expected during the race.

21:32 – Clouds are darkening around the circuit, though the Miami International Autodrome remains bathed in sunlight. The weather remains highly uncertain for the race.

21:41 – Rain showers are circling the area, but their current path is skirting the track. Still, the FIA has issued a 40% chance of rain.

21:45 – Air temperature stands at 27 degrees, while track temperature remains high at 44 degrees. Enough margin to handle light rain before switching tyres.

21:47 – Speaking on the grid, McLaren CEO Zak Brown admits to feeling nervous about the start: “Things could go really well, but they could also go very wrong.” The American also commented on Norris’s approach: “He should go for it if there’s room, but he also needs to be cautious — he’s got a strong car.”

21:53 – Sad news from the paddock: Jochen Mass, who competed in 105 Formula 1 Grands Prix between 1973 and 1982, has passed away. He claimed his sole victory at Montjuïc in 1975.

21:55 – Track temperature is now at 40 degrees, while passing showers continue to skirt the circuit. The risk of rain has dropped to 30 percent.

22:00 – Russell, Hamilton, Lawson, Hülkenberg, Alonso, Bearman and Gasly have opted for hard tyres, while the rest of the grid will start on mediums.

Start – Lights out and we’re underway! Verstappen gets a strong launch and leads into Turn 1, but goes deep. He forces Norris wide but keeps the lead as the McLaren runs off track.

Lap 1 – Norris loses a place to Antonelli, then slips behind Piastri, Russell, and Albon. Contact between Lawson and Doohan triggers a Virtual Safety Car.

Lap 2 – Verstappen leads Antonelli by 1.5 seconds, with Piastri 1.4 seconds behind the Italian. Russell runs fourth, closely behind the McLaren. Norris complains he was forced off track, while Doohan has come to a stop.

Lap 3 – Replays show Verstappen made a mistake and veered sharply in front of Norris, but race control appears unbothered. Doohan hit Lawson, spinning him around.

Lap 4 – Verstappen maintains a 1.3-second gap to Antonelli as the Virtual Safety Car ends. The field resumes under green, running line astern.

Lap 5 – Piastri sets the fastest lap with a 1:31.920 and closes to within one second of Verstappen. The incident between Verstappen and Norris appears to have initially escaped the stewards’ attention.

Lap 6 – Norris and Sainz both pass Albon, with Norris now just four tenths behind Russell. Rain is expected in around 20 laps, and Aston Martin warns of a “heavy” downpour if it hits the track. The Verstappen–Norris incident is now under review, while the Doohan–Lawson collision is deemed a racing incident.

Lap 7 – Verstappen leads Piastri by 1.3 seconds, with Antonelli 2.3 seconds back. Norris overtakes Russell and moves into fourth. Race control announces no further action will be taken regarding the Verstappen–Norris clash.

Lap 8 – Piastri closes to within one second of Verstappen, while Norris does the same behind Antonelli. Russell holds fifth ahead of Sainz and Albon, with Leclerc, Tsunoda, and Ocon completing the top ten.

Lap 9 – Rain is now expected around Lap 14, with Turns 7 and 17 likely to be hit first before the entire circuit is affected. Norris overtakes Antonelli for third. Alonso spins but continues.

Lap 10 – Piastri is within half a second of Verstappen, despite the Red Bull driver clocking the fastest first sector. Verstappen moves under braking—a maneuver that is clearly against the rules.

Lap 11 – Norris sets the fastest lap with a 1:31.901 and narrows the gap to Piastri to under four seconds. Piastri remains tightly behind Verstappen.

Lap 12 – Norris again posts the fastest time, this time a 1:31.700, cutting the gap to Piastri down to 2.5 seconds. Piastri continues to pressure Verstappen, as engineer Gianpiero Lambiase advises Verstappen to defend the inside line.

Lap 13 – Piastri remains within half a second of Verstappen, who reports the car is sliding. Norris has closed to 2.1 seconds and pulls 4.8 clear of Antonelli. The Italian still holds a 1.7-second buffer over Russell. Sainz is 2.2 behind, with Albon right on his tail. Leclerc is also closely following the second Williams.

Lap 14 – Piastri lines up Verstappen and attacks around the outside. Verstappen locks up and tries to run him wide, but the move fails. Piastri capitalizes and takes the lead of the race.

Lap 15 – Verstappen loses 2.5 seconds on the lap as Norris begins to close in. Piastri pulls away out front, while Verstappen appears to be struggling with his brakes. He again forces Norris off track at Turn 1, squeezing the McLaren on exit.

Lap 16 – Norris can’t find a way past Verstappen and loses ground to Piastri, as both drop over five seconds behind the race leader.

Lap 17 – Piastri sets the fastest lap with a 1:31.687, pulling 1.5 seconds clear of both Verstappen and Norris. Rain appears to be closing in. Norris attacks and forces Verstappen off track but gives the position back before the lap ends.

Lap 18 – Piastri now leads Verstappen by eight seconds. Norris attacks again down the straight and this time makes the move stick. Sainz lets Albon through after gaining an off-track advantage.

Lap 19 – Russell reports the first drops of rain.

Lap 20 – Piastri again sets the fastest lap with a 1:31.662, extending his lead to 9.2 seconds over Norris. Verstappen trails the second McLaren by 1.8 seconds, with Antonelli 2.5 seconds behind the Red Bull. Sauber pits Bortoleto for hard tyres—a bold call with rain still looming.

Lap 21 – Stroll also pits as the threat of rain intensifies over the Miami circuit. Up front, the gap between the McLarens remains steady. Further back, Hamilton challenges Ocon, but the Frenchman holds on to tenth place.

Lap 23 – Norris sets a new fastest lap with a 1:31.537, closing the gap to Piastri to 8.7 seconds. The rain still hasn’t reached the track, and Hadjar heads into the pits.

Lap 24 – Ocon makes a stop as well, while weather radar suggests the rain is moving away from the Miami circuit. Piastri retakes the fastest lap.

Lap 25 – The Australian improves again with a 1:31.429, but Norris immediately goes quicker with a 1:31.312. Tyre management continues to be McLaren’s strong suit, with both drivers lapping a full second faster than the rest. Verstappen is now 7 seconds behind Norris, while Antonelli remains 2.2 behind the Red Bull.

Lap 26 – Light rain may still touch Turn 17, but teams report nothing significant. Antonelli pits and rejoins in ninth. Sainz also stops and comes out in 11th.

Lap 27 – Norris sets the fastest lap with a 1:31.277 as Verstappen pits and rejoins in seventh, just behind Hamilton. Albon also stops and comes out just behind Antonelli. Both are immediately improving their lap times.

Lap 28 – Verstappen overtakes Hamilton, while Tsunoda makes his stop. The McLaren drivers are unbothered by the undercut threat given their previous gap and continue to extend their stints. Antonelli now clocks the fastest lap with a 1:30.795. Bearman slows on track with an engine issue.

Lap 29 – A Virtual Safety Car is deployed, and Hamilton uses the opportunity to pit, rejoining ahead of Tsunoda and Ocon. Alonso also pits, while McLaren stays out. We’ve just passed the halfway mark of the race.

Lap 30 – Piastri and Norris pit under the VSC, as do Russell and Leclerc. The VSC ends, and both McLarens retain their positions at the front. Russell uses the phase to jump Verstappen, with Antonelli now up to fifth. Albon is sixth, ahead of Leclerc, Sainz, Hülkenberg (who has yet to stop), and Hamilton. Gasly, also yet to pit, briefly holds 11th before being overtaken by Tsunoda.

Lap 31 – The gap between the McLaren drivers is 7.3 seconds, with Russell 16 seconds behind Norris. Verstappen trails Russell by 1.7 seconds. Hamilton sets the fastest lap with a 1:30.620.

Lap 32 – Piastri sets the fastest lap of the race with a 1:30.170. On medium tyres, Russell pulls further away from Verstappen, extending the gap to 2.3 seconds. Albon overtakes Antonelli for fifth place. Tsunoda receives a five-second penalty for speeding. Bortoleto retires with another mechanical failure on his Ferrari-powered Sauber.

Lap 33 – The Virtual Safety Car is deployed again as Bortoleto is unable to return to the pits. Gasly takes the opportunity to stop and rejoins in 14th. Verstappen asks his team to check whether Russell lifted under yellow flags—if only the Red Bull driver applied the same scrutiny to his own actions.

Lap 34 – Leclerc forces Sainz wide into Turn 1, and Hamilton seizes the chance to overtake. Sainz drops to ninth.

Lap 35 – The gap between the McLaren drivers remains 7.3 seconds. Russell now trails Norris by 18 seconds, with Verstappen 3.3 behind the Mercedes. Albon is 4.7 seconds back, holding a 2.2-second buffer over Antonelli, who has stretched his advantage over Leclerc to six seconds.

Lap 36 – Piastri sets a new fastest lap with a 1:29.822, nearly matched by Norris at 1:29.834. McLaren’s race pace is exceptional, with the Ferrari drivers emerging as the closest challengers behind them.

Lap 37 – Norris reclaims the fastest lap with a 1:29.746. Hamilton complains he’s “burning up the tyres” while stuck behind Leclerc, who lacks pace at this stage of the race.

Lap 38 – Hamilton grows frustrated behind Leclerc as the gap between the McLaren drivers drops to 6.9 seconds. Russell now trails by 21.9 seconds, with Verstappen closing in at 2.5 seconds behind. Hamilton’s engineer advises him to stay close for DRS, prompting a sharp response: “Guys, seriously…” At the same time, Lawson retires from the race. Hamilton adds, “This isn’t good teamwork, that’s all I’ll say.” Ferrari eventually decides to swap their drivers.

Lap 39 – Verstappen continues to close on Russell, now just 2.3 seconds behind.

Lap 40 – Hamilton immediately pulls 1.4 seconds clear of Leclerc in a single lap. The Monegasque is now under pressure from Sainz.

Lap 41 – The gap between Piastri and Norris is down to 6.5 seconds with 17 laps to go. Russell is 24.3 seconds adrift of the leader, and Verstappen remains two seconds behind the Mercedes. Albon can’t keep up but still holds a 2.5-second cushion over Antonelli, who is now being hunted down by Hamilton, 4.6 seconds back. Hamilton complains the team order came too late, while Leclerc bemoans the turbulent air from his teammate’s car.

Lap 42 – Tsunoda continues pushing to extend his gap over Hadjar, now at 4.4 seconds. Gasly and Sainz are both under investigation for failing to follow yellow flag procedures.

Lap 43 – Norris closes to within six seconds of Piastri. Verstappen is 1.5 seconds behind Russell, while Leclerc continues to complain about being stuck behind Hamilton. Tsunoda stretches his lead over Hadjar to 4.8 seconds.

Lap 44 – The gap between the McLaren drivers remains steady.

Lap 45 – Norris shaves off a few tenths, closing to 5.5 seconds. With 13 laps remaining, catching Piastri still looks unlikely. Verstappen trails Russell by 1.6 seconds. Tsunoda increases his advantage over Hadjar to 5.1 seconds.

Lap 46 – Norris finds more pace and cuts the gap to 4.8 seconds, gaining half a second in the lap.

Lap 47 – Hadjar remains within striking distance of Tsunoda, trailing by 5.4 seconds. Leclerc has closed to within six-tenths of Hamilton and complains that the other Ferrari is disrupting his air and causing tyre overheating.

Lap 48 – The gap between Piastri and Norris is down to 4.1 seconds with ten laps to go. The Brit will need to gain half a second per lap to mount a challenge—assuming McLaren doesn’t decide to freeze the positions.

Lap 49 – Piastri responds with a strong lap to keep Norris over four seconds behind, putting himself in a solid position for the win. Verstappen is 1.8 seconds behind Russell but appears unable to close the gap further.

Lap 50 – The gap between the McLaren drivers remains steady, while Hadjar stays within reach of Tsunoda at 5.5 seconds. The Japanese driver will have a five-second penalty applied at the finish.

Lap 51 – Norris brings the gap down to 3.6 seconds, but it seems too late to challenge Piastri. Leclerc continues to complain about tyre overheating but admits he’s unsure whether he could close the gap to Antonelli any faster than Hamilton. There’s still a 2.4-second margin between the seven-time champion and the Mercedes.

Lap 52 – The McLarens remain separated by 3.5 seconds, with Verstappen 1.5 seconds behind Russell. Hadjar dips back under the five-second mark to 4.9 behind Tsunoda. Leclerc retakes the position from Hamilton but criticizes the team for issuing the order too late. He now trails Antonelli by three seconds.

Lap 53 – Piastri extends the gap slightly to 3.8 seconds. Hadjar slips back over five seconds again, meaning it will come down to the tenths in the fight with Tsunoda. Hamilton is clearly frustrated—when informed that Sainz is 1.4 seconds behind, he fires back sarcastically: “Do you want me to let him through too?” Tension is rising at Ferrari.

Lap 54 – Hadjar stays exactly five seconds behind Tsunoda, still on the limit to gain the position after penalties.

Lap 55 – The gap between the McLarens holds steady, while Verstappen drops off behind Russell, now 2.9 seconds adrift.

Lap 56 – The gap between Hadjar and Tsunoda remains right around five seconds—tenth place hangs in the balance. Verstappen’s engineer instructs him to stay within five seconds of Russell. Could this relate to his earlier request to check if Russell slowed sufficiently under yellow flags?

Final Lap – The gap between the McLaren drivers holds at four seconds as they begin the final lap. Leclerc has closed to 1.5 seconds behind Antonelli and may leave Ferrari wondering what could have been. Hadjar slips to 5.2 seconds behind Tsunoda—just outside the window to claim tenth through the penalty.

Finish – Piastri takes victory with a 4.6-second margin over Norris, securing his fourth win of the season. Russell claims another strong podium in third, ahead of Verstappen. Albon finishes an outstanding fifth after a rock-solid drive, making up for the Sprint podium he lost post-race.

Antonelli takes sixth ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton, who came under attack from Sainz in the final corner. The Spaniard is under investigation for a potential yellow flag infringement and could face consequences for the questionable move.

Tsunoda holds on to tenth place by just 0.168 seconds over Hadjar. The French rookie finishes 11th, followed closely by fellow countrymen Ocon and Gasly. Hülkenberg comes home 14th, with the Aston Martins of Alonso and Stroll occupying the final classified positions.

2025 F1 Miami Grand Prix – Race Results

Pos	Driver	Team	Laps
1	Oscar Piastri	McLaren F1 Team	57 laps
2	Lando Norris	McLaren F1 Team	+4.630s
3	George Russell	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	+37.644s
4	Max Verstappen	Oracle Red Bull Racing	+39.956s
5	Alex Albon	Atlassian Williams Racing	+48.067s
6	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	+55.502s
7	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Ferrari HP	+57.036s
8	Lewis Hamilton	Scuderia Ferrari HP	+60.186s
9	Carlos Sainz	Atlassian Williams Racing	+60.577s
10	Yuki Tsunoda	Oracle Red Bull Racing	+74.434s
11	Isack Hadjar	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	+74.602s
12	Esteban Ocon	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	+82.006s
13	Pierre Gasly	BWT Alpine F1 Team	+90.445s
14	Nico Hulkenberg	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	+ 1 Lap
15	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	+ 1 Lap
16	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	+ 1 Lap
DNF	Liam Lawson	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	41 laps
DNF	Gabriel Bortoleto	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	33 laps
DNF	Oliver Bearman	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	28 laps
DNF	Jack Doohan	BWT Alpine F1 Team	2 laps