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In Miami, in 2024, Lando Norris secured his first Formula 1 victory in Florida, taking advantage of the Safety Car period to make a pit stop and take the race lead, which he held until the checkered flag. On Thursday, May 1, 2025, the McLaren driver, who is second in the World Championship behind his teammate, Oscar Piastri, is present at the press conference. Speaking about the upcoming Grand Prix, he says:
"It’s a beautiful memory, but it won’t help me this year. I achieved the dream I had when I was a kid, and the emotions I felt during the victory lap I’ll never forget. What challenges are ahead of us? The same, our competitors".
Speaking about McLaren’s cars, Lando Norris says:
"We probably have the best car at the moment, but one mistake and you find yourself behind, so it’s not the position anyone would want to be in. We’ll try to improve and have a clean weekend".
Regarding issues in qualifying, the British driver adds:
"It’s definitely not a lack of talent or speed on my part. In Q1 and Q2, I’m often at the front, but in Q3 sometimes it’s hard to put everything together. I’m working on it".
As for the technical directive expected for the Spanish Grand Prix:
"It’s fun to read and hear what the competitors are saying, all their speculations, but I’m confident it won’t change much for us, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing. We’ll be strong all year".
A McLaren better suited for Piastri than Norris?
"Is the 2025 car more suited to Piastri than me? Hard to say. Maybe there are aspects he’s adapted to more quickly, but in any case, it’s up to the driver to adapt to the car available. Together with the team, we’re working on some aspects that could help me, it’s a process of small things that should come together in the upcoming races".
After the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, McLaren underwent an internal change: Lando Norris lost the World Championship lead, which was inherited by Oscar Piastri. In the first five races, the Australian driver has already won three, and without the unfortunate mistake in Australia, his lead over his teammate would be even bigger. Despite the several errors Norris has made in the recent races, the English driver is confident that he can turn things around and reverse the internal rivalry.
"Piastri’s streak of results? I’m not worried at all, he’s doing a good job and he deserves it. Nothing more. I don’t really believe in momentum, but that’s just my opinion. I’m doing what I can. It’s clear that I’ve made mistakes and I’m not at the level I need to be at, but I believe I’ll get there soon. So there’s no reason to be worried".
Finally, Norris emphasizes - understandably, from his perspective - that the season is still in its early stages, and there’s certainly room to close the gap:
"It’s the sixth round out of twenty-four, I won’t say it forever, but I know I need to get a move on and step it up. At the moment, I’m doing my best every weekend, trying to improve. But the speed is there, the rhythm is there, the race pace is definitely there. It’s just something I need to sort out. It’s a difficult thing, but I’m confident I’ll manage".
The Miami Grand Prix represents the fourth race for Yuki Tsunoda as a driver for Red Bull Racing. So far, he has scored points only in Bahrain. It seems that the Japanese driver is adapting to the tricky RB21 better than Liam Lawson did in the two races he was given. Now, however, after the crash he was involved in during the first lap of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Tsunoda needs to deliver consistent results to boost the team’s points in the Constructors’ World Championship.
"Finally, I’ve had some time to get used to it, but I still need a bit more to make further progress. I’m quite happy with what I’ve done so far, the confidence is there. But when you push the limit to 110% in qualifying, it’s always difficult because it’s the first time you’re doing it over the weekend. It always takes a bit of time to build the right rhythm in qualifying. Up until now (in qualifying), I’ve experienced slightly different behavior from my car compared to what I’m used to. It’s not extremely difficult, but I need a little more time to get fully used to it".
During the media session in Miami, it also came out that Tsunoda had done a test at Silverstone with a 2023 Red Bull Racing car during the mid-season break, to further familiarize himself with the driving style of the Milton Keynes-built cars:
"We found a wet track and had some issues during the day, so we didn’t drive much. Anyway, it was a good experience. Honestly, it’s hard to feel the difference because the conditions were completely different. The characteristics were completely different compared to the circuits we’ve been to in previous races, and I didn’t want to give any silly feedback that could cause confusion. Simply, it was a good test to log some kilometers".
George Russell is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated figures in the press conference in Miami. The British driver has had a solid start to the season, with three podium finishes in the first five Grand Prix and always placing within the top 5 in races. Mercedes is now second in the Constructors’ World Championship, behind only McLaren.
"Actually, I think these results are better than our expectations. Our pace puts us behind McLaren and in a distant battle with Red Bull and Ferrari, so we’ve done really well to get these podiums. But that doesn’t mean we have the fastest car, even though we’re currently second in the Constructors’ Championship. On average, we’re probably the third-fastest team, we saw that Charles [Leclerc] did a great race last weekend, and Max has been strong in the last few races, but we’ve been very consistent and we’ve brought home a lot of points".
However, regarding the Saudi Arabian race, Russell acknowledges that the heat - expected to be similar in Miami - affected the performance of the W16:
"The tires overheated, and that was the main issue. This made it even harder to stay with the top two early on. Then Charles had a great race, and we probably went a bit too fast for what the cars allowed, so we had a very heavy and sudden tire degradation. I think this weekend we’ll have similar tire temperatures to Jeddah, so we’ll see, hoping that the data we collected last week will help us perform better. I think in qualifying, our pace will be about the same, but race pace remains a big question mark".
In the previous three editions of the Miami Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has never finished a race beyond sixth place. The British driver is coming off three tough races, where he couldn’t be as competitive as his teammate, Charles Leclerc. However, Lewis Hamilton isn’t discouraged, and in the press conference, he says:
"There’s not one particular thing that isn’t working. Even at Mercedes, the first six months were difficult. I have to adjust, get used to working with new people, and the same goes for the engineers, who were used to other drivers and different driving styles. I’m trying to work on adapting my driving style, that’s for sure. We don’t have any updates here, but Leclerc has shown what this car can do, and we need to do the same and try to replicate that kind of performance".
Could the Sprint format be an advantage?
"In reality, I’m not able to explain it. In China, we didn’t really make any changes to the car, and that was definitely a positive aspect, the car was competitive from the start. In the other races, however, we’ve always made changes to try to improve the car throughout the weekend, and we haven’t always succeeded".
In Jeddah, Charles Leclerc secured his first podium of the season after a brilliant race where his tire management skills were highlighted. The Monegasque driver did well to compensate for the shortcomings of his SF-25, but he’s the first to admit that he and the team want more than just a third-place finish. Speaking at the media day in Miami, Leclerc explains that, at the moment, the car is not as competitive as the McLaren, making it difficult to aim for a victory. However, the Monegasque’s ambition remains to find a way to give Ferrari fans a victory as soon as possible, perhaps even hoping for some mistakes from rivals, like Lando Norris’ in Saudi Arabia.
"It hasn’t been the start to the season we wanted, but it’s the one we’ve had. We need to focus on the future and try to improve, as we’ve done in the last three races. We’ve made some progress, and we need to build on that and hope to get the first win as soon as possible. On paper, we still don’t have the potential to fight against McLaren or Red Bull when they’re on a good day. But we need to take the points available. Then, when we have a car capable of winning, we must win. That being said, I still enter the weekend with the goal of winning on Sunday and doing our best".
Since the Japanese Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc has mentioned that he has found particular setup adjustments that have allowed him to get the most out of the SF-25. However, the Monegasque has only managed two fourth-place finishes between Suzuka and Bahrain, and he only made it onto the podium in Jeddah. In short, good results, but not the ones he hoped for, especially considering that Leclerc stated he had extracted the maximum from his Ferrari’s performance.
"This year, we’ve gone in some pretty extreme directions in terms of setup to extract a bit more from the car, so I feel like I’m changing a lot of my driving style to adapt to the demands of this car. The car is a bit more difficult than previous ones, very, very front-heavy (and thus oversteering, ed.) and that makes it quite tricky to drive, especially when you’re on the limit in qualifying. But it’s something I like, something I’ve always enjoyed in my career".
There was also a question about Lewis Hamilton’s situation, as he struggles to find a solution to improve his feelings behind the wheel of the SF-25:
"Comparing the feelings of different drivers is always very difficult. Having been with Ferrari for seven years, there might be things that have become very natural for me after so many years with the team, things I don’t even realize anymore. But I feel like I’m driving very differently this year because the car requires a different setup and driving style. We’re still exploring and pushing in that direction because, for now, we’re only seeing benefits, at least from my side. I really like this direction".
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s debut Formula 1 season is going quite well so far. The Italian driver is sixth in the championship, having only missed the points in Bahrain. Now, he’s looking forward to his first American trip of the season, at the Miami street circuit around the Hard Rock Stadium.
"It will be exciting, it’s my first time in Miami, not just on track but in the city itself. It will be nice".
Talking about his expectations, the Italian driver seems confident:
"We’ve been very consistent, especially in qualifying, where we’ve always had strong pace, so we can hope to fight for the front rows this weekend as well. As for the race, I don’t know what to expect. Last weekend, both George and I struggled during the race, but tire degradation in the previous races didn’t seem too big, so I think there will be a lot to fight for. If we can start at the front, we can fight for good positions".
Three wins in the last four races, two consecutive victories in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and, most importantly, the championship lead achieved for the first time in his career after the Jeddah Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri is undoubtedly the man of the moment in Formula 1. The Australian driver arrives in Miami with the odds in his favor and with the intention of continuing his golden run and increasing his lead in the standings. During the media day in Miami, the McLaren driver confirms that he remains calm and not prone to emotional outbursts, emphasizing that his approach to the weekend is the same as ever.
"The approach? It stays the same, we want to try to win the race. That doesn’t change. We hope to be competitive here, we have a strong car this year, but with the temperatures expected, it will be interesting to see how this impacts the different cars. We should be in a good position, but it will be difficult to identify our main competitors on this track".
In 2024, Oscar Piastri’s race was compromised by a contact with Carlos Sainz Jr., leaving him to settle for P13, outside the points. His goal for this weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday, will undoubtedly be to erase that bad memory. On Friday, May 2, 2025, there is a flurry of activity when the green light switches on at the end of the pit lane at 12:30 p.m. local time - the majority of the field kicking off their weekends with some leisurely runs on Pirelli’s medium and hard compound tyres. There are some minor dramas in the early minutes, with Lando Norris reporting that tools have been left in his cockpit (an incident that will be investigated by the stewards post-session), and Yuki Tsunoda commenting that his seat height feels quite high. Around a quarter of the way into the session, it is George Russell who holds P1 - via a wild slide through Turns 14 and 15 - thanks to a 1'28"058 on mediums, three-tenths clear of Norris and half a second up on Verstappen, who is in action shortly after becoming a dad. That compares to the Dutchman’s pole-sitting times of 1'27"641 in Sprint Qualifying and 1'27"241 in Qualifying at last year’s event, with plenty more time to come during the late-session runs on the softest red-marked rubber. Before those runs start, Norris has another scare when he approaches a slow-moving Esteban Ocon under braking for the Turn 17 hairpin and narrowly avoids running into him - that incident is also noted by the stewards for a post-session investigation. When drivers finally make the switch to softs, with Russell’s aforementioned benchmark still standing over teammate Kimi Antonelli, Williams’ Carlos Sainz, and the two McLaren drivers, the timesheets are sent into another frenzy of green and purple sectors.
Piastri charges to the top of the timing screen as the chequered flag approaches, despite a brush with the wall - the championship leader producing a 1'27"128 to finish comfortably clear of Leclerc, Verstappen, and Williams pair Sainz and Alex Albon. A host of drivers behind miss out on representative soft-tyre laps, though, given that Bearman loses control of his car exiting Turn 11 and spins around into the Turn 12 wall with five minutes remaining, bringing out the red flags.
"Ah, man - sorry".
Laments the rookie over the radio. With the clock ticking down to zero, Isack Hadjar’s bright pink Racing Bulls car rounds out the top six, from Russell (whose best time comes on mediums given Bearman’s shunt), Tsunoda, and Antonelli, as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso completes the top-10 places. Norris is another driver to lose out from the red flag, ending up 12th between the other VCARB 02 of Liam Lawson while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton is in 13th. The Briton is followed by Kick Sauber racers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, and the sidelined Bearman. Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan put their Alpines 17th and 19th respectively, sandwiching the team’s former driver Ocon, while the second Aston Martin machine driven by Lance Stroll completes the 20-strong pack. Drivers and teams now regroup in the paddock before returning to the track for Sprint Qualifying, which is scheduled to get underway at 4:30 p.m. local time and will set the grid for Saturday’s 100-kilometre Sprint race. After championship leader Piastri tops the timesheets during the sole practice session of the weekend earlier on Friday, attention turns to setting the grid for the second Sprint of the campaign as Sprint Qualifying begins at 4:30 p.m. local time. With the medium compound mandatory for SQ1, all of the drivers are sporting the yellow-marked tyre as the 12-minute segment gets underway. As several cars queue to exit the pit lane, Doohan claims that Lawson has been released unsafely into his path amid a busy start to the session. Tsunoda, meanwhile, reports that he wishes to change his helmet after struggling with the wind out on track. Red Bull teammate Verstappen seems to be having no such troubles, the new dad initially going fastest before being displaced by Norris and then Antonelli, the Mercedes driver setting a benchmark of 1'27"858. At the other end of the timesheets, the five drivers at risk after everybody has put a lap on the board are Doohan, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Bearman, and Hadjar, the latter having had his time deleted. There are some hair-raising moments for some, with Leclerc and Bortoleto both kissing the walls of the Miami International Autodrome during their efforts.
Would everyone keep it clean as the pack heads back out for their final runs? Tsunoda’s fate is soon decided, the Japanese driver having failed to reach the line in time to start his lap. While his former teammate Hadjar hauls himself up into the top 10, Bearman also does not make it to the line to begin his second effort. Another rookie, Doohan, does not escape the elimination zone, leading to the Australian voicing his frustrations to the team over the radio about when he was sent out amid traffic in the pit lane. While Russell goes fastest up ahead - leading Antonelli in a Mercedes 1-2 - those exiting in SQ1 are Stroll, Doohan, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, and Bearman. After a brief pause, 10 minutes go on the clock for SQ2, a segment in which the medium tyre is again mandatory. Antonelli once again looks strong as the session gets going, the Italian beating Verstappen to P1 by just 0.002s. This position is soon taken by Piastri, the McLaren man setting the pace on a 1'27"354 to go nearly two-tenths clear of teammate Norris. Others, meanwhile, opt to stay in the pits for the opening minutes, instead choosing to make just one run in the latter stages. Among those to leave it late is Gasly, who makes contact with the wall through Turn 16 but still slots into eighth. An improvement from Ocon pushes the Alpine driver down into the danger zone, while Alonso and Hulkenberg also get themselves out of the bottom five. However, Hamilton and Albon both subsequently move themselves up into the top 10, pushing Hulkenberg, Ocon, Gasly, and Lawson into being eliminated. Also exiting in P15 is Sainz, the Williams driver having suffered a lock-up on his lap that forced him into the runoff area at Turn 11. At the other end of the spectrum, the Spaniard’s former teammate, Norris, has gone quickest. It all comes down to the eight-minute SQ3 segment to decide the top 10 for Saturday’s Sprint, with all of the drivers running the mandated soft tyre for the final segment. Russell and Verstappen are the first to hit the track for an early run, the Mercedes man going two-tenths faster than the Red Bull on a 1'26"791.
The rest of the field, meanwhile, emerges for their own efforts with just a few minutes remaining. While Russell looks to be done after returning to the pits, Verstappen remains out on track - albeit on older tyres than the majority of his competitors, with all but Alonso running fresh rubber. Hamilton initially slots in behind Russell, while Verstappen storms through to beat Russell. A thrilling sequence then ensues as Antonelli goes quickest of all on a 1'26"482 - and despite the efforts of Piastri and Norris, this secures the Italian his first pole position at a track he has never driven before. With the McLarens taking P2 and P3 behind the rookie, Verstappen is pushed down to fourth ahead of Russell in fifth. Leclerc and Hamilton claim sixth and seventh for Ferrari respectively, while Albon, Hadjar, and Alonso complete the top 10. The Magic Happens Just Before 5:20 p.m.. Andrea Kimi Antonelli grabs the pole position in the Sprint Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix. At 18 years old, he is - of course - the youngest driver in history to ever secure a pole position in Formula 1, including both Sprint Races and Grand Prix. Visibly emotional and still in a state of pure bliss after achieving the incredible feat - beating the competitive McLarens of Piastri and Norris, Max Verstappen's Red Bull Racing, and George Russell’s car by 0.3 seconds - Antonelli takes part in the usual interview for the fastest driver of SQ3.
"It was an intense qualifying, I felt good from this morning and was confident heading into qualifying. The last lap was amazing, I put everything together, and the best part is that it came very naturally. I’m very happy to have secured my first pole. Tomorrow will definitely be great starting from the front row, I can’t wait. And I can’t wait to race in the Sprint and then see how we do in qualifying".
Just one perfect and fast lap in the decisive phase of Sprint Qualifying was enough to make all of Italy dream. Andrea Kimi Antonelli clinches his first career pole position, and it doesn’t matter that it won’t count for the official statistics, which (rightfully) reward only those who set the fastest time in a full qualifying session. There are smiles, emotions, but also lucidity and composure: the mindset of a young driver who, after just six weekends in a Formula 1 car, instead of celebrating the achievement, analytically reflects on the tire preparation for the fast lap that allowed him to beat the giants of the sport he has just begun competing in.
"I didn’t expect it, even though I’ve always defended myself well in qualifying. From the first lap in Q1, I had good sensations with the car, and I have to say that in the final lap with the Soft tires, I managed to put everything together. Maybe in Sector 2 I could have done a little better, but I think I managed to do a good lap, and I’m really happy with it. Tire preparation? Since free practice, we’ve tried to experiment a lot with temperatures, especially for the start of the lap, to extract the maximum potential. I was a bit uncertain about the Soft tires because I hadn’t used them in FP1, but in the end, I felt the grip right away in the first corner and just tried to push as hard as I could. Every weekend I’m gaining more confidence with the car, and I’m also understanding the tires better. But I must say, on this track, I was able to adapt really well right from the start. I especially like the first two sectors, and I’m happy with that. Now we’ll focus on tomorrow because it would be nice to repeat it".
Antonelli mentions that he took advantage of the hot laps - the laps made with street cars early in the weekend, taking F1 guests and VIPs for rides - to get to know the track better:
"I think I’ll do them every time it’s possible because even though you’re driving a street car, you get to know the track and the lines you need to take a little better, so even mentally it’s much better. I found it way more useful than doing the track walk (the walk around the track, editor’s note) because in the car, your head also gets used to the flow of the corners. Definitely, the hot laps helped me".
However, there are different impressions ahead of the Sprint Race, as it’s not certain that Mercedes has the pace to stay ahead of the formidable competitors:
"Race pace? We don’t know yet, even though we did a lot of laps in FP1. The others did fewer laps, and we don’t know their fuel loads. As usual, we expect the McLarens, maybe the Red Bulls, and possibly the Ferraris as well. I’ll need to aim for a good start and then keep a strong pace".
With the awareness that staying ahead and not getting stuck in traffic, especially this year, is a big advantage:
"In every race, we’ve seen that when you’re behind another car, you have much more tire overheating, and it’s much harder. Even if you’re faster, it’s difficult to pass because it’s hard to follow another car closely. The tires heat up much more, and you have less grip, so being in clean air makes a difference. That’s why it’ll be important to try to stay in clean air for as long as possible".
The two McLaren cars will start immediately behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with the provisional World Championship leader, Oscar Piastri, securing second place, less than 0.1 seconds behind the Mercedes driver from Italy:
"I’m reasonably happy; it wasn’t my best lap ever. I had a lock-up in the last corner, and that’s probably where I lost the pole, but it’s still a good result. We’ll still be able to fight in the Sprint tomorrow from there. I’m quite happy. I think we still have a bit of pace to unlock. We hope so, so we’re optimistic and will try to recover the position tomorrow in the Sprint, before potentially getting stuck in the battle".
His teammate, Lando Norris, is also partially happy, showcasing McLaren’s strong competitiveness, but ultimately settling for third place:
"The qualifying was very close, we have a good feeling, and we’re happy to have put together a good lap. We got close, but I don’t think I could have asked for much more. I have a lot of good memories here, but we need to forget them because they belong to the past now. We have to focus on this weekend and today’s performance, which I think was at a good level, not quite good enough, but it shows just how close we are to the Mercedes. We both ended up behind, so we have work to do tomorrow in the Sprint".
On paper, the Miami Grand Prix was expected to be tough for Scuderia Ferrari, and so far, the results haven’t been kind to the Maranello team. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton only managed sixth and seventh positions in the Sprint Qualifying. The Monegasque driver was more than 0.3 seconds behind, but still managed to beat his teammate by 0.2 seconds. Clearly, Charles Leclerc emphasizes that while the lap was good, the SF-25 simply doesn’t allow for more right now:
"The lap was good, but the result isn’t. We don’t have the pace for now. Tomorrow, I’ll try to do something special at the start, but honestly, there’s not much room for improvement based on what we saw today - the car is what it is right now. The slow corners are our weak point, but there’s no corner where we are particularly fast".
Ferrari’s Team Principal, Frédéric Vasseur, adds:
"Certainly, the gap is too big, Antonelli is too far ahead, but we’re not too far from Verstappen and a few others who are ahead of us. We’ve struggled to put everything together, and we’re still making mistakes. We’re struggling with the balance, and we pay the price because as soon as we make small mistakes, we overheat the tires, and we lose everything".
The slow sector is the most complicated for Leclerc and Hamilton:
"The first sector is good, and we lose no more than a tenth in the last sector. We lose a bit more in the low-speed corners; we have a problem with the car at the start of this sequence, and it carries over through the entire section, losing us a couple of tenths overall".
Leclerc was not happy with his track position during his SQ3 attempt, but Vasseur deflects the issue:
"Nothing happened, we all came out at the same time, and there was some confusion. Tomorrow could be another story. The track temperature will be one of the keys, and tire degradation will come into play as well".
The difficult moment for Lewis Hamilton in qualifying continues. There was no repeat of the Shanghai miracle, where the British driver secured pole position in Sprint Qualifying and then won the Sprint Race. This time, the English driver had to settle for seventh place, beaten again by his teammate. At the end of Sprint Qualifying, Hamilton reiterates the ongoing struggles of the SF-25, not sounding overly optimistic about the Sprint Race either:
"This was a better session. Though FP1 was probably a bit better, we still lack some speed. We need to work to try to improve. Recovering in the Sprint? I don’t think so because everyone in front of us will be faster. All the cars in front will be quicker, so my position will be what it is".
After the Sprint Race, before the actual qualifying session, the park ferme rules will be lifted, and the mechanics will be able to work on the cars. Even with potential setup improvements in mind, Hamilton remains uncertain:
"Any ideas to work on the car? I always have ideas, but I don’t know if they’ll be right or not. There are certainly things we can take from today, setup changes based on how the car behaved, and there’s work to do to recover speed for the rest of the weekend".
Max Verstappen’s recent fatherhood has clearly not changed him, as he once again got the maximum out of his car. The Dutch driver placed his Red Bull Racing car in the second row, in fourth position for the Sprint Race starting grid. Only the spectacular Andrea Kimi Antonelli did better, even beating both McLaren drivers. The World Champion was also summoned by the stewards after Sprint Qualifying for not respecting the minimum time in SQ2, impeding Lance Stroll in his fast lap. The stewards did not penalize Verstappen, so he will start fourth, while Yuki Tsunoda seems to have already experienced the misfortune of being the second driver at Red Bull Racing. The Japanese driver is in P18 for the Sprint Race, partly due to an on-track entry in the middle of traffic.
"I think what we did in SQ3 was good, and the tires held up pretty well, but unfortunately, since FP1, I was struggling a bit with the car’s understeer. Here, with those slow corners, you lose quite a bit of time on the lap. In the first sector, we were quite competitive because there are some high-speed corners, but as soon as we hit the low-speed corners, we lacked grip. P4 is fine, it’s not where I’d like to be, but we have to be realistic with the limits we have right now. I think we’re still competitive enough. It’s hard to say where we’ll be in the Sprint because we don’t have much data on long runs. Based on my feelings and the car’s balance, it will be difficult with the heat, but we’ll do our best".
At the same time, Yuki Tsunoda says:
"The Sprint Qualifying was disappointing for me. Many cars cost me the lap on the first run, and then in the last corner, I had a big lock-up and couldn’t complete the lap. To be honest, the lap was already compromised in the first corner due to traffic, and I couldn’t do a proper time attack. I knew the times were tight for my second lap, but there wasn’t much I could do. There was a car in front of me, and I could only go as fast as that. We got stuck in the garage, and these things can sometimes happen, but we know we need to work on our communication. I’m quite far back for the Sprint, but obviously, I’ll do my best, and on this track, anything can happen. I’ll stay positive and try my best".
With this, Andrea Kimi Antonelli has undeniably risen as a star in F1, setting a remarkable achievement in Miami’s Sprint Qualifying and breaking Sebastian Vettel’s record to become the youngest poleman in F1 history, across all formats. This result has surprised everyone, including the Mercedes team, who have watched the young Italian driver grow within their ranks and now celebrate his success. George Russell also congratulates his teammate for his pole:
"Big congratulations! I’m really happy he secured his first pole. He’s been incredibly fast since the first lap of FP1, and that’s really impressive. It’s great for him and for the whole team. We hope he can convert this into a strong result in Sprint Qualifying".
Russell will start fifth in the Sprint Race, as he did his lap in the first part of SQ3:
"I didn’t feel comfortable with the car. I struggled a bit and was off rhythm. I chose to go out early in SQ3 because, in the end, I didn’t have the confidence to be in the group. I didn’t want to get caught by a yellow flag, so we made the safer choice. P5 isn’t a good result, obviously, and we need to improve in qualifying".
Following just one practice session on Friday, Sprint Qualifying takes place later in the day to decide the grid for the 100 km dash, in which points are awarded to the top eight finishers from a maximum of eight for P1 down to one for P8. The closing moments of SQ3 provide a thrilling sequence of events as Antonelli puts together a stunning lap to claim his maiden pole position, the 18-year-old becoming F1’s youngest-ever polesitter in the process as he holds off the McLarens of Piastri and Norris. Ahead of the Sprint getting underway, one change is confirmed to the grid as Yuki Tsunoda - who ends a challenging Sprint Qualifying in P18 - will start from the pit lane due to the set-up of the suspension on his Red Bull being changed under parc ferme conditions. But there is further drama to come as torrential rain hits the Miami International Autodrome with the start time approaching - leading to Leclerc suffering a premature exit from the Sprint when he slides into the walls en route to the grid, putting him out of the event before it even begins. Given the unpredictable nature of the conditions - with the rain having stopped prior to the 19-lap encounter starting - question marks remain over which tyre the pack will be starting on at the damp track.
And when the tyre blankets are removed ahead of the formation lap - which takes place behind the Safety Car - it is revealed that everybody has bolted on the intermediate tyres, with the exception of Carlos Sainz on the full wets. With plenty of spray being kicked up as the formation lap ensues, Antonelli and Piastri report struggles with visibility in the conditions while replays show Max Verstappen going wide. The Safety Car remains out on track to lead the field around - before a red flag is thrown, resulting in all 19 cars returning to the pit lane and parking in the fast lane. After that pause in the action - during which the conditions look to have improved, while Sainz makes the switch from the wets to the intermediate tyres - it is announced that the Sprint will now get underway at 12:28 p.m. local time. The Safety Car again leads the drivers out for another formation lap in preparation for a standing start on the much more raceable track. As the lights go out for the remaining 15 laps of racing - with the formation laps having added towards the count - Antonelli struggles to launch as well as Piastri, with the pair going into Turn 1 side-by-side before Piastri holds the inside line to take the lead while Antonelli goes wide, dropping down behind Norris and Verstappen in the process. The Mercedes driver takes to the team radio to suggest that he has been pushed off the track, just as Piastri begins to build an early advantage from team mate Norris. Elsewhere Alonso - still looking for his first points of the season - enjoys a strong start to move from P10 to P8, with Lawson also making gains in P9 after starting from P14.
"It is drying very quickly".
Piastri reports, having now extended his lead to 1.7s - and while his first corner incident with Antonelli is noted by Race Control, it is then deemed that no investigation is necessary. Another driver potentially under scrutiny, though, is Verstappen, having been noted for a false start for being out of position - before this is also dismissed as requiring no further action. As Lap 8 ticks down, Piastri leads from Norris, Verstappen, Antonelli, Russell, Hamilton, Albon, and Alonso. It looks like an intra-team battle could be on the cards at Mercedes, with Russell rapidly closing in on Antonelli in the fight for fourth place. There is also plenty of action a little further back as Albon chases down Hamilton in a scrap for sixth, the Williams driver being followed by Alonso in the process. By Lap 11, questions are arising over whether anybody will gamble on a switch to the slick tyres - and Tsunoda becomes the first to make a move, diving into the pits for a set of used mediums to reemerge at the rear of the field. Hamilton - who has been struggling for grip out on track - becomes the next to switch to slicks by bolting on the softs, with Stroll and Sainz soon following suit for mediums. A flurry of action then ensues as Verstappen and Antonelli pit - only for contact to occur between them as Red Bull releases their driver just as the Mercedes man tries to pull into his box, resulting in debris scattering across the pit lane while the Italian is forced to continue on to the pit exit. Back on track, Sainz suffers a sudden puncture, forcing him to return to the pits to retire. Piastri, meanwhile, makes a stop on Lap 14 for the mediums, leaving Norris out in the lead. It is not all smooth sailing for the Briton, though, who reports debris out on track following Sainz’s issues, with replays showing that the Williams driver spins and clips the wall.
Norris subsequently pits on Lap 15 - just as the Safety Car is called following a heavy crash for Alonso, meaning that last year’s Miami Grand Prix winner is able to reemerge as race leader ahead of Piastri, Hamilton, Verstappen - under investigation for that potential unsafe release in the pit lane - Albon, Russell, Stroll, and Lawson. It is soon confirmed that Verstappen has received a 10-second time penalty, while replays show that Alonso has been tagged by Lawson, which triggers a spin into the barriers, another incident that has been noted by Race Control and will be investigated after the Sprint. As the Safety Car remains out on track for the final laps, Norris ultimately crosses the line in P1 to take the Sprint victory ahead of Piastri, marking the Briton’s first win since his triumph at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. With that penalty for Verstappen dropping the Dutchman down to the bottom of the order, Hamilton follows the McLaren pair in third, a solid result for the sole Ferrari in the event, while Albon takes fourth for Williams, though the Thai driver is noted for a Safety Car infringement that will be looked at later. Russell is fifth from Stroll, Lawson - another driver set to be investigated post-Sprint for that Alonso collision - and Bearman making up the top eight. Once again, luck smiled on Lando Norris during the Miami weekend, as last year, the British driver managed to win thanks to a perfectly timed Safety Car deployment. A similar episode occurred during the Sprint Race, right when the chance of crossing the finish line first seemed to fade away. After a delayed start due to rain and with drivers generally opting for Intermediate tires, the track progressively dried out over the laps, pushing drivers to switch to slick tires in the final stages. Just then, with Oscar Piastri and his direct rivals for the win already having pitted, Fernando Alonso collided with the barriers. This incident triggered the Safety Car, which helped Norris, who became the new leader and easily kept the lead until the checkered flag.
"My luck seems to be quite good here in Miami right now, so I'm happy. The pace was very good anyway. These races are always tough because you never know when to pit. If you pit at the right time, like Lewis did with his strategy, you reap the rewards, while I pitted later and was lucky with the Safety Car for the second time in a row. I'm happy with the team's work, and we had fun. The plan is to get pole and win tomorrow, but it'll be tough. There are a lot of fast drivers, yesterday I felt good but made a few mistakes. Now I'm ready to try again, and I'm excited".
Oscar Piastri, on the other hand, was more disappointed. Despite finishing in second place and being unable to overtake his teammate due to the Safety Car, the Australian driver managed to pass Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the start, holding onto first place until the final stages with the Safety Car on track:
"I think I did everything right, so I'm a little disappointed with second place, but sometimes it goes that way. Unfortunately, races are difficult at times, and I hope I saved some luck for this afternoon and tomorrow. Another great start, I must say, another good race, so I'm happy with what I did. We definitely have good pace, we showed it in qualifying yesterday, and we hope to improve it further for this afternoon's qualifying. Hopefully, the weather settles, but we’re still focused on having a fast car, so we’ll try to make it even faster to make tomorrow’s race a bit easier".
For the first time this season, Max Verstappen failed to score any points, but he didn’t have much to blame himself for. The Dutch driver was securing a respectable third place when, during his pit stop, he was signaled to leave the box just as Andrea Kimi Antonelli was already starting his maneuver to take his pit spot. Inevitably, Verstappen was hit with a 10-second penalty and dropped out of the points zone (since the race finished under Safety Car conditions). The Italian driver’s skill avoided a major disaster, and Verstappen didn’t hide his thoughts:
"I couldn’t do anything. I got the signal to go, and I left. A really big mistake, there was a lot of carelessness. It’s good that no one got hurt, because with these cars, when you hit someone…".
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner commented on what happened:
"It was a human error, and we’ll learn from it".
Apart from the penalty, the race wasn’t exciting for Verstappen:
"It was pretty boring, basically I saw the McLarens disappear, I got a little bit of a gap on the Mercedes, and then I was just waiting for the race to end".
Andrea Kimi Antonelli did not score any points in the Sprint Race. The Italian driver started from pole but was forced to widen his trajectory into the escape road in Turn 1. This incident dropped Antonelli to fourth place. Later, when he came into the pits to switch to slick tires, he found himself unable to reach his pit box because Verstappen left early due to a team error. The situation was potentially dangerous, but no mechanics were injured. Antonelli, however, couldn’t change tires and ended up making a wasted trip through the pit lane, ultimately falling out of the points.
"It seems that in the first lap with these rules, you can do anything. Piastri literally pushed me off. I started turning because there was the corner, and he went straight and completely pushed me off. So yeah, it seems you can do it, so it's good to know. The unsafe release was a bit of bad luck. I don’t think Verstappen could do anything because he was given the green light and left. It went well because it could have been a bad incident, especially for the mechanics. I’m a bit disappointed with how the race went, and definitely angry about the first lap. But as I said before, it’s good to know that you can do it, and now I’ll focus on qualifying".
Charles Leclerc did not participate in the Sprint Race. The Ferrari driver, while preparing for the grid, mounted Intermediate tires and crashed into the wall, severely damaging the right rear suspension. The Monegasque driver didn’t make excuses and said:
"There are many things you could say and many factors to consider, but I was behind the wheel. I lost control on the straight, but I wasn’t pushing. There was aquaplaning, and the car just stopped responding to my inputs".
Charles Leclerc’s Sprint Race ended 25 minutes before it even began. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur explained what happened, and more specifically, why the two Ferrari cars did not mount Full Wet tires during the formation lap:
"We went out just as it started to rain. We were already going down the pit lane, so we couldn’t change. It’s a shame for Charles. In hindsight, it might have been better to let the others go first, but if everyone thinks that way, then no one will leave".
Finally, an observation from Lewis Hamilton in his radio exchange with the pits, specifically regarding the formation lap:
"I don’t know how you managed to send us out here on the Intermediates".
As often happens, when the track is wet and decisions need to be made quickly, Lewis Hamilton manages to surprise everyone. It’s happened many times in his long career, and it happened again during the Sprint Race at the Miami Grand Prix. Just when it seemed clear that no one would pit due to the few laps left before the checkered flag, it was the English driver who convinced Ferrari engineers to take the gamble of an unplanned tire change to switch to slicks. This move followed an intense exchange of messages over the radio with Riccardo Adami, and allowed Lewis and Ferrari to secure an unexpected podium. Given how the race had been going and after Charles Leclerc's crash before the start, it seemed like even a miracle wouldn’t get a Ferrari into the top 3 on the Miami circuit. However, the strategic call worked, and thanks to the choice of Soft tires and especially the undercut on the drivers who stayed out a few laps longer on the Intermediates, Hamilton managed to climb up the field.
"Today was really fantastic, and I’m very happy. I never thought it could rain here in Miami. It’s the first time we’ve had wet conditions here, and it made for a great race. The strategy? I think with the intermediates, we were struggling like everyone else, so I decided to pit. I said, ‘I’m going to the pits because we’re not going anywhere.’ We gambled, I took that risk, and it paid off. If there had been another couple of laps, maybe I could have challenged the McLarens, but congratulations to them as always".
As the dust settled on an eventful wet-dry Sprint at the Miami International Autodrome, the attentions of the paddock switched to Qualifying, which would decide the starting order for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix. While the session started slightly later than planned at 4:15 p.m. local time - due to the Sprint having also ended later than scheduled after the weather triggered a delayed start - there were questions over whether cars that picked up damage in the Sprint would be ready in time for Q1. Aston Martin allayed any concerns about Alonso’s participation by confirming that the AMR25 had been repaired for Qualifying following his crash out of the 100km dash, and Leclerc was also back in action for Ferrari after sliding into the barriers before the Sprint Race formation lap, meaning that all 20 cars hit the track for Q1, all sporting the red-marked soft tyres. After receiving a post-Sprint penalty that dropped him out of the points, Albon again looked to be in trouble early in Qualifying, with the Williams driver noted for a pit lane infringement after seemingly pushing into the fast lane ahead of Hadjar. This will be investigated after the session. Meanwhile it was advantage Piastri as the first timed laps went on the board, the Australian setting the pace with his effort of 1'27"307 to go nearly three-tenths faster than Verstappen. Hadjar, Russell, Antonelli and Lawson all opted not to post a lap time initially, leaving them all in the drop zone along with Stroll. As the minutes ticked down and the lap times started to tumble, Antonelli outpaced team mate Russell to go fastest - only for Verstappen to then become the first man to break into the 1'26"0 at the top of the timesheets. Verstappen’s fellow World Champion Hamilton suffered a lock-up during his effort, heightening the pressure for the Ferrari driver after finding himself on the bubble in P15. The other drivers at risk ahead of the final minutes were Ocon, Alonso, Gasly, Stroll and Bearman. While Verstappen remained in the pits, the rest of the pack were out on track trying to improve.
With Alonso moving up to P14, Hamilton was dropped into the danger zone - but the Scuderia racer managed to haul himself up to P8, while Tsunoda also bettered his previous time to go P9. Bortoleto put himself into an impressive 11th, but his Kick Sauber team mate was pushed into elimination in 16th. Alonso also found himself dropping down the order to 17th, with Gasly a disappointing 18th for Alpine ahead of Stroll and Bearman in 19th and 20th respectively. Q1 pace-setter Verstappen was the first to hit the track as Q2 got underway, the Red Bull driver heading out on a set of fresh soft tyres - before promptly going on to set an early benchmark of 1'26"643. After everybody had set a timed lap, it was Piastri who had made his way to the top of the timesheets with an eye-catching 1'26"269, leading by two-tenths from team mate Norris with Antonelli slotting into third ahead of Verstappen. At the other end of the spectrum, Russell was a surprise name in the danger zone with several minutes remaining - the Briton reporting struggles with grip, having not been as comfortable as Antonelli during the weekend so far - while the others at risk were Ocon, Doohan, Lawson and Hadjar, the latter having aborted his lap. Following a lull in the action, the cars started to reemerge for their final efforts into the final minutes of Q2. While Piastri seemed content to remain in the pits, Ocon was fighting to progress to Q3 - and despite a big slide, the Haas driver hauled himself up to P9, pushing Hamilton into the elimination zone. Russell climbed up to P3, but Hadjar, Bortoleto, Doohan and Lawson all failed to improve, meaning that they were out of Q2. Perhaps the biggest shock, though, was that Hamilton found himself at risk - and then could not better his effort, meaning that he exited in P12 just hours after a promising P3 result in the Sprint.
An interesting mixture of names prepared to battle it out in the top 10 shootout, with the McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Williams pairings joined by the remaining Ferrari of Leclerc and the Haas of Ocon, the Frenchman making his first Q3 appearance for his new team. As all of the drivers completed an initial run - with the exception of Leclerc, who abandoned his effort after going wide - it was Verstappen who held provisional pole on a 1'26"492, a mere three-thousandths ahead of Norris in second while Piastri was only 0.017s away in third. Antonelli followed in fourth, with Albon just behind in fifth. With such incredibly fine margins at play, the scene was set for a thrilling showdown in the final minutes of Q3. But who would come out on top? It initially appeared that Verstappen’s chances of holding onto pole may be in jeopardy after a wobble into the first corner - yet the Dutchman still managed to set purple sectors en route to going fastest on a 1'26"204. All eyes were on whether Norris could beat that, but a moment over the kerbs seemed to put paid to the McLaren’s man challenge, forcing him to settle for second. Piastri also failed to improve, while Antonelli split the two papaya cars to take third, just one day after the Italian grabbed an impressive pole in Sprint Qualifying. The other Mercedes of Russell slotted into fifth, ahead of the Williams duo of Sainz and Albon in sixth and seventh respectively, while Leclerc, Ocon and Tsunoda rounded out the top 10. Anyone who thought the birth of little Lily could slow Max Verstappen down has been proven wrong. The new dad himself admitted it during the post-qualifying press conference, just to clear up any doubts that might have worked back in the days of Enzo Ferrari, but certainly make no sense to apply in 2025. Let alone when it comes to the talent, hunger, and fierceness of the Dutch driver:
"Clearly, becoming a father hasn’t made me slower. We can throw this story out the window for anyone who might still mention it".
Then, of course, once again, despite an initial setup that wasn’t completely spot on, the Red Bull Racing team managed to fine-tune the car session by session leading up to qualifying. They found a lot of aerodynamic downforce in the first sector, the part of the track with successive high-speed corners. It’s no coincidence that, despite a small mistake in turn 1, Max Verstappen was able to pull off yet another piece of magic right there.
"Honestly, it wasn’t too bad today. It’s also about not making too many mistakes and putting together a good lap. And I have to say, this year, that’s been a very positive aspect for us".
A perhaps subtle reference to the mistake made by rival Lando Norris in the final corner, who, second by just 0.065s, probably lost his chance for pole there.
"In qualifying, I’ve always felt good, and in the last year, there’s definitely been an improvement on my part in terms of consistency. I’m happy about that. In the end, it’s also a team effort; we need to work together to improve every small detail. And we’re really putting in a lot of work on this and on the car. Winning the Grand Prix? It’ll take a bit of luck, but at the same time, we need to follow everything very carefully as a team, even though it won’t be easy".
Lando Norris had no choice but to settle for second place behind championship rival Max Verstappen in Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, despite feeling confident about his car’s potential. Coming off the back of a late victory in the Sprint, the Briton missed out on pole position by just 0.065s, leaving him to rue a small error that involved a lock-up at Turn 17. Although McLaren have looked like the top team overall across the first six rounds of the season, the competition has been incredibly tight and Norris has found himself unable to start from first place since Australia, the opening race. He set the fastest middle sector of anyone during the Qualifying hour, but his minor mistake limited what he could achieve on the timesheets.
"I think even that lap, it's all should've, would've, could've stuff but I didn't deliver. The pace was there, the car’s feeling good, I've been feeling better than I have done over the last few weekends. I've still not put it together but it is what it is. Max on pole, I'm P2 so ready to see what we can do into Turn 1. Congrats to Max, especially being a dad now. I was hoping it was going to slow him down a little bit but it clearly didn’t. I'm happy with today, happy with the progress I've been making with the car, with myself. Max did a Max lap once again and I can't fault him. Happy and excited for tomorrow".
On the bright side for Norris, the polesitter has never won the race around this circuit, leaving any number of possibilities on the table for the 57-lap Grand Prix in which he will be hoping to replicate his maiden win from 2024. His team mate Oscar Piastri will share similar ambitions to add to his list of victories after he endured a frustrating Qualifying that puts him in P4 on the starting grid. The weekend so far has been a sequence of almosts for the Australian - he missed out on Sprint pole position to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, managed to take control of the Sprint on the opening lap, and lost out on the win to Norris benefitting from Safety Car conditions.
"Both laps in Q3 were a bit messy, just at different points of the lap which was a shame. I think the pace was looking very strong and in Q2 I felt comfortable. In Q3 it just all fell away a little bit unfortunately, but I think the car is still going to be strong tomorrow. Hopefully we can make some progress from there. It’ll be tough to fight for the win but I think I’ve had good pace this weekend. It’s just a shame I didn’t capitalise on it when I needed to".
Andrea Kimi Antonelli didn’t replicate his Sprint Qualifying performance but still secured an impressive third place, only 0.067s behind Max Verstappen’s pole position.
"I’ve felt comfortable with the car all weekend, and I’m happy to have converted that good feeling into another solid qualifying result. I struggled a bit in Q1 and Q2, not managing to put together a clean lap like I did in the Sprint Qualifying. Luckily, my best lap came in Q3. I overdid it in Turn 1, but the rest of the lap was good. The gaps at the front are incredibly tight, and even a few hundredths can make a difference. I’m still happy with my lap, and P3 is a good starting point for the race".
Antonelli beat his teammate George Russell in qualifying for the first time (excluding the Sprint Qualifying), with Russell starting from fifth:
"Qualifying has been my strong suit this year, and obviously, I’m not satisfied with the fifth position. However, I’m surprised to be only two-tenths away from pole, because I didn’t have a good feeling. I’m proud of what Antonelli did, and we can still score a lot of points in the race".
Talking about the Miami Grand Prix, which could still surprise, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff doesn’t hide his hope for rain during the race:
"Both drivers didn’t put in perfect laps. Kimi made a small mistake at Turn 1, and George had some oversteer at Turn 7. We knew it would be difficult to challenge the McLarens and Verstappen, so while we’re never satisfied with P3 and P5, it was still a positive qualifying. The weather forecast for the race is mixed, and we wouldn’t mind if there were some rain showers. Our race pace isn’t as strong as the McLarens in warmer conditions, and both Verstappen and the Ferraris have shown how fast they can be in similar circumstances. It’s something we’re working hard to improve, and we hope to make progress in the next races".
At the end of the Miami Grand Prix qualifying, Charles Leclerc had a tense look and was clearly down emotionally. It’s not hard to see why - he had a really tough day: first the Sprint Race, in which he didn’t participate due to an incident during the formation lap, then a very difficult qualifying session. Despite everything, the Monegasque driver was the only Ferrari driver to make it into the top-10. However, in the decisive moment, even he couldn’t get past eighth place, being beaten by both Williams Racing drivers. Speaking to the media after qualifying, Leclerc once again insisted - and it’s hard not to believe him - that he had extracted the maximum possible from the SF-25. Analyzing the entire session, the Monegasque driver noticed something strange about his car, perhaps related to the race against time the mechanics had to face to get it ready for qualifying.
"There was something strange in qualifying today. I don’t know what happened, we need to look at the whole car. In Q1, we were in a completely wrong place in terms of balance, and we didn’t make that many changes. We need to review everything because obviously, it wasn’t an easy day for anyone, especially [the mechanics] having to work quickly to get the car back together".
Asked whether this could be the cause of his qualifying result, Leclerc didn’t give a definitive answer:
"For now, I don’t want to say that. We made some changes: either the changes were much bigger than we expected, and then there’s something to understand, or there’s an error somewhere, but we’ll see. For now, I don’t want to say anything because the mechanics did a fantastic job recovering from what was a difficult day. Updates? Here, even in Q2, I had a huge struggle just to make it into Q3. Today went like this. This weekend has been very tough, and on a track like this, we’re even behind Williams, in normal qualifying conditions, because it’s not like they had luck and we had bad luck. They were just normal laps for both Williams and us. We really struggle in the slow corners, as is evident for now. I hope the updates will help us".
Lewis Hamilton’s third-place finish in the Miami Sprint Race, thanks to a strategic gamble that paid off with a top-3 finish, brought a smile back to the seven-time World Champion after a rocky start to the season with Ferrari. However, his enthusiasm lasted only a few hours, until the start of qualifying. The fight for pole ended early for Hamilton, still struggling in the SF-25, to the point of failing to reach Q3. He will start from P12 in the race. Excluding his Sprint Race win in China and his Miami Sprint Race podium, Hamilton’s struggles with Ferrari seem unrelenting, and the British driver doesn’t hide his disappointment not only with the result but also with the lack of connection to his car:
"The day started well for us, I came here near the front, wanted to make sure we took the right steps in terms of setup, but no matter how much work I put in to go faster, I was a bit unlucky in Q2. I started on used tires and almost matched Charles’ time. It was a good lap, then we put on fresh tires, but I couldn’t go any faster. With the tires starting to overheat, the car was completely different from one lap to the next, and it was really difficult. Where does this car need to improve? I think we’re all scratching our heads trying to figure that out".
Lewis Hamilton made it onto the podium once again in the second Sprint Race of the season, finishing third in Miami behind the McLarens, thanks to a perfect strategy during the transition from intermediate to slick tires. But without being able to capitalize on favorable circumstances, the SF-25 in Miami seems destined to face a rather anonymous race, with both Williams drivers, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon, ahead of Charles Leclerc, in eighth. Frustrated, Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur tries to analyze what has happened so far:
"We’ve struggled to put together a lap and make the most of the new tires. We’re losing something with the new tires, especially because we lose four of the five-tenths in the first two corners, and then in the rest of the lap, we lose just another tenth. We need to understand what we’re doing wrong, we’re definitely missing something. Do we need updates? This car was the fastest on track in Jeddah, it’s about extracting its potential. For tomorrow, we have to hope for some nice rain, as today we managed to get onto the podium through strategy in the Sprint. I’m convinced our pace will be better in the race over a longer distance, but starting from where we are, it will be difficult to recover. We’ll see how the first lap goes and what our pace will be".
Unlike the recent Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri was not perfect in qualifying in Miami. While the Australian driver was very unlucky during the Sprint Race, especially in his direct battles with Lando Norris, in qualifying, the World Championship leader didn't deliver a strong enough performance, getting beaten not only by his teammate but also by Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli. The McLaren driver isn't making excuses and says he didn't do as good a job as he would have liked, but he believes the MCL39 can still allow him to aim for victory.
"Certainly, there are still some aspects of our car that we want to resolve, and driving it to the limit is one of those. This weekend, the car had enough pace to be in pole, but unfortunately, I didn’t do as good a job as I should have. We’ve always thought that if we make mistakes, we’ll be beaten, and that’s been true so far. The races have always been close, the gaps have always been very small, and potentially our advantage has been a bit greater on Sundays. A hot Grand Prix could help us a bit, but qualifying always makes a big difference, so it won’t be easy to make progress, even though I have confidence in the car".
On Sunday, May 4, 2025, at the start of the Miami Grand Prix, the five lights go out to get the Miami Grand Prix underway - and Verstappen initially gets away smoothly, only to experience a slight lock-up into Turn 1, which encourages Norris to get alongside the Red Bull. However, a moment of contact between the pair sees the Briton run across the apex into Turn 2 and drop a number of positions to end up in sixth, allowing Antonelli and Piastri through into second and third. The McLaren driver goes on to report:
"He forces me off".
Meanwhile, there is trouble further back for Doohan, who makes contact with the Racing Bulls of Lawson and picks up a puncture. The damage ultimately proves too much for Doohan to return to the pits, the Alpine stopping out on track, which leads to the deployment of a Virtual Safety Car. Lawson remains in the running, albeit at the back of the order.
Shortly after the VSC period ends on Lap 4, Piastri is quick to make a move on Antonelli to snatch P2 while Norris grabs P5 from Albon - both welcome sights for the McLaren pit wall, with Piastri subsequently starting to cut into Verstappen’s 1.5s lead. Other moves are unfolding elsewhere, as Hamilton overtakes Hadjar for 11th and Sainz takes sixth from teammate Albon.
"He forces me off".
Alonso is being told by his race engineer. Race control, meanwhile, notes the Lap 1 incident between Verstappen and Norris before deciding that no further action is needed, with the same verdict being given to the Doohan and Lawson contact. As Lap 8 ticks down, Verstappen continues to lead from Piastri, Antonelli, Norris, Russell - who looks to be struggling with his hard tyres - Sainz, Albon, Leclerc, Tsunoda and Ocon. It does not take long for that to change again, as Norris soon gains another position by getting past Antonelli. There is a heart-in-mouth moment for Alonso, who suffers a spin at the same corner where he crashes in Saturday’s Sprint - but fortunately manages to avoid the walls on this occasion. Back up front, further tense scenes are playing out as Piastri sets about trying to overtake Verstappen, having closed right in on the Red Bull. Two attempts on Lap 11 fall short, with Verstappen told by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to stay on the inside and make him work for it. All of this is allowing Norris, meanwhile, to chase down the leading two cars.
"It’s super slippery to drive".
Verstappen reports, seemingly in reference to the tyres. Piastri can wait no longer on Lap 14. After the papaya car is initially forced wide, backing out of a move, Verstappen then out-brakes himself and goes wide in the process, which allows Piastri to cut back through to become the new race leader. And just one lap later there is a sense of déjà vu for Verstappen as Norris closes in on the World Champion - but this time a move around the outside of Turn 1 does not work for the Briton, leading the McLaren team to coach him over the radio on how Piastri finds a way past. The battle gets increasingly feisty by Lap 18, with Norris pushing Verstappen wide into Turn 11 to squeeze down the inside and take the position. The Briton subsequently hands the place back - having seemingly gone off the track when making the overtake - but then retakes P2 later in the lap. Amidst this scrap, Piastri has checked out up ahead, having built up a nine-second lead. Bortoleto, meanwhile, becomes the first driver to pit on Lap 20 to switch from the medium to hard tyres - just as light drops of rain look to be falling at the Miami International Autodrome. Elsewhere, a thrilling fight is playing out for 10th place between Ocon and Hamilton, with the Ferrari man eventually finding a way past the Haas to claim the final points-paying position. By Lap 24 the order ahead of Hamilton stands as Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Antonelli, Russell, Albon, Sainz, Leclerc and Tsunoda.
McLaren looks to be in a class of their own, though, with Piastri leading by eight seconds from Norris while the latter has built the same gap back to Verstappen in third - with the Mercedes pair getting closer to the Red Bull in fourth and fifth. Antonelli subsequently dives into the pits on Lap 26 - but experiences a slightly slow stop after having to wait for Sainz to go past in the pit lane, seemingly ruining the Italian’s chances of undercutting Verstappen. Norris, meanwhile, is warned that possible light drops of rain could fall in the next two laps, mostly concentrated at Turn 17. The pit stops are soon coming in thick and fast, with Verstappen the first of the top three to stop for the hard tyres. But back on track Bearman is having mechanical problems, the Haas driver pulling off the track at Lap 29, resulting in a Virtual Safety Car being called. McLaren then calls both drivers to pit in a double stack, allowing Piastri and Norris to reemerge in P1 and P2 respectively, while Russell benefits from pitting under the VSC to take P3 from Verstappen. Others having a good phase of the race include the Williams team, with Albon picking off Antonelli for fifth while Sainz grabs seventh from former teammate Leclerc. But things are not going so well for Tsunoda, who collects a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Also in trouble is Bortoleto, with the Kick Sauber driver told to retire the car after earlier complaining of engine issues. The Brazilian is ultimately unable to make it back to the pits and stops on track, meaning that another Virtual Safety Car is deployed. After the VSC period ends, an exciting battle plays out between the two Ferrari cars and Sainz, with Leclerc trying to overtake for seventh - a move that he subsequently pulls off, with Hamilton then following through to move up into eighth. A debate ensues over the radio at the Scuderia as Hamilton - running on the medium tyres in contrast to the hards on Leclerc’s car - suggests that he should be let by, leading the seven-time World Champion to comment that the situation is not good teamwork as he is kept behind. After further frustrated messages from Hamilton - who sarcastically tells the team to have a tea break while you’re at it, amid a delay in making the call - the decision is eventually made to swap the cars. Elsewhere, Lawson becomes the fourth retiree from the race, the New Zealander returning to the pits. As Lap 45 ticks down, Piastri remains five seconds ahead of Norris in the lead - while Russell is a whole 27 seconds adrift in third, outlining the commanding performance of the McLarens.
The Briton cannot rest easy, however, as Verstappen is on the chase in the fight for the final position on the podium. Albon is running in fifth ahead of Antonelli, with Hamilton and Leclerc still in seventh and eighth - and that situation is not settled yet, with Leclerc having significantly closed the gap to his teammate. Intriguingly, Norris looks to be edging closer to Piastri as the Australian’s advantage comes down to just over four seconds after lapping some backmarkers. The stewards look to be in for a busy evening post-race, having confirmed that they will investigate Sainz and Gasly for possible yellow flag infringements after the Grand Prix. But there is still plenty of action to be had out on track as the race enters its final five laps, with Norris again cutting Piastri’s lead down. Elsewhere, with Hamilton having been unable to close in on Antonelli, the Briton is asked to swap positions back with Leclerc. In an unusual turn of events, Leclerc is told of this before Hamilton, meaning that the seven-time World Champion does not know he is expected to yield. When he is informed, Hamilton follows the instruction, while Leclerc comments:
"We’ll discuss after the race".
The drama is not over for Hamilton, though, who finds himself being hunted down by the Williams of Sainz. A last-lap lunge from Sainz ultimately does not go in the Spaniard’s favour - and will also be investigated after the race. But there are no such problems up front, with Piastri crossing the line to clinch his fourth win of the season by 4.63s from Norris in a sublime day for McLaren. Russell adds to his tally of podium finishes by taking third, with Verstappen unable to close the gap in fourth. Albon follows in a strong fifth for Williams, ahead of the Mercedes of Antonelli in sixth and the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Hamilton in seventh and eighth. Sainz and Tsunoda round out the top 10, ahead of Hadjar, Ocon, Gasly and Hulkenberg in 11th through to 14th respectively. At the close of a busy weekend in Miami, Piastri increases his points tally to 131 at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, 26 points clear of Norris in second, while Verstappen remains in third on 99 points.
"I won the race that I really wanted to. Yesterday was a tricky day. Obviously the Sprint was what it was, but Qualifying was probably one of my trickiest sessions of the year. To come away with a win still on Sunday is an impressive result. Obviously there was a bit of argy-bargy at Turn 1 which helped me out a little bit, and then I was aware enough to avoid Max coming through in Turn 1. From that point onwards I knew that I had a good pace advantage and clearly the car was unbelievable today".
As soon as he got out of the car, Oscar Piastri celebrated his Miami Grand Prix victory with a little dance - specifically, the Griddy, a move made famous by an NFL player with whom the Australian driver had made a bet.
"It was an attempt at doing the Griddy, poorly executed as you all saw. I met Justin Jefferson on Thursday, the guy who basically made the Griddy famous worldwide, and I stupidly made a bet with him that if I won the race, I would do a little dance for him. After qualifying, I didn’t practice it because I didn’t think it would actually happen. I honored the bet, but that’s the last time you’ll see me dance the Griddy".
The second-place finish in the Miami Grand Prix brings little joy to Lando Norris. The British driver returns to the podium, but his teammate’s win puts him in a difficult position. The growing gap in victories between the two is also starting to matter. On top of losing to Piastri, Norris seems to be reliving the nightmare of past duels with Verstappen, which marked the second half of last season. His second place came down to two lost battles with the Dutch driver: the first at the start, when Verstappen once again forced him off the track, dropping him to sixth place; the second during the first stint, where he spent four long laps stuck behind Verstappen’s car - despite it being slower, it blocked every chance of overtaking. That’s when Piastri, out in front, pulled away and built the lead that he would later manage until the finish.
"Second place? Yeah, it’s never a great feeling, but the team did an amazing job, so I definitely can’t blame them. Good pit stops, great pace… we were leading the race. So that felt great. But Oscar drove well. Max fought as always and I paid the price. That’s just how it goes".
Pressed by the interviewer, Norris elaborated on the incident at the start, for which he had asked—unsuccessfully—over the radio for Verstappen to be penalized.
"What can I say? If I don’t go for the move, people complain. If I try, people still complain. So either way, I’m wrong. But with Max, that’s just how it is: either you crash or you don’t get by. Unless you do things perfectly and get him in the right position, then maybe you can make it. I paid the price for not doing a good enough job today. But I’m still happy with P2".
McLaren Racing Team Principal Andrea Stella, however, had a slightly different view on what happened between Norris and Verstappen at the start:
"In hindsight, in the first lap, it might have been wiser for Lando to lift off and accept that he could’ve taken the lead later, because the car was fast enough - but that’s hindsight talking".
Stella also commented on the second incident, confirming the team’s real-time decision:
"Giving the position back? We thought it was the right thing to do because, in our view, Lando was off track limits, and you have to give the place back on the track. It was a bit unlucky, but we have to act properly. He could have risked a penalty, so it was the right call".
In Miami, George Russell also claimed a third-place finish, a result that puts him fourth in the Drivers’ Championship standings, just six points behind Max Verstappen. In addition to battling the Dutch driver - who was beaten in part thanks to the well-timed Virtual Safety Car - Russell had to deal with stomach issues during the race.
"Over the last 15 laps, I got a horrible stomach cramp and I’m really struggling now. I can’t stand up straight, my stomach is killing me, I need to figure out what went wrong. I had a slightly heavier breakfast than usual, and that might be the reason".
Max Verstappen tried everything he could to defend against the McLaren drivers after taking pole position in qualifying, but the British cars proved too strong. Red Bull Racing struggled with tire overheating far earlier than McLaren. The team even lodged a protest against George Russell, accusing him of not slowing enough under yellow flags, but the stewards dismissed it.
"Third or fourth, it doesn’t really matter - we came here to win and we weren’t even close. The McLarens are miles ahead, and we overheat the tires way earlier than they do. I tried to defend, but I couldn’t do much. We were a bit unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car, but in general, we lacked pace - and that’s the only thing that matters and the one thing we need to focus on".
As for the season’s goals, Verstappen doesn’t think he’ll win many races unless he’s able to defend properly, like in Suzuka:
"I can aim for wins at tracks where overtaking is more difficult".
Regarding his duels with the McLaren drivers, Verstappen believes he stayed within the rules:
"From my point of view, I didn’t do anything wrong. I just defended and did everything I could to stay ahead - just like anyone else would".
Finally, Andrea Kimi Antonelli secured sixth place in a Miami Grand Prix where he was a standout performer in qualifying but unlucky and disappointed in the race. After securing pole in the Sprint Qualifying, the chaos of the short race saw him finish seventh - helped by others’ penalties. A brilliant third-place in Q3 led to a sixth-place finish that felt more like a consolation.
"I have to say, I felt much better on the mediums than on the hard tires. At the end of the stint with the mediums, we were much closer to Max. But later, with the hard tires, I really struggled. Even with the balance, I couldn’t do what I wanted. Now we have to analyze and figure out what went wrong".
The final assessment is clear: there’s still work to do - for both the driver and the team - when it comes to race pace:
"This weekend, qualifying was definitely a strong point. For the first time this year, I really nailed the lap. But the race was disappointing, because I definitely hoped for more. Let’s just say we’re there in qualifying and on one-lap pace, but compared to McLaren, we lacked race pace today".
Charles Leclerc started from eighth position in the Miami Grand Prix and finished seventh, getting ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr., thanks in part to a well-timed pit stop during a Safety Car period. The Scuderia Ferrari driver later gave way to Lewis Hamilton under team orders but regained the position near the end, as Hamilton didn’t have a significantly faster pace.
"I don’t know what Lewis wanted, but in any case, I don’t blame him. The goal for both of us is to maximize the result. I don’t think I argued much before letting him through. Today, though, there’s a lot of frustration - some things are better discussed only with the team. It was a very difficult Sunday. I tried to stay off the radio as much as possible. I was really angry. Here in Miami, we were less competitive than in the last three races, and we need to understand why. I’ll keep believing until the end and will give everything I’ve got, but we clearly need to improve the car because right now it’s not enough".
Lewis Hamilton finished the Miami Grand Prix in eighth, right behind teammate Charles Leclerc. The two had a bit of a radio battle, with Ferrari engineers instructing Leclerc to let Hamilton by - albeit with a few laps of delay. While the drivers resolved things quickly after the race, the same cannot be said about Hamilton's relationship with the Maranello team:
"Early on, with the hard tires, I really struggled for grip and lost a lot of time behind Ocon’s Haas, also because the track was basically green again after the rain. Then, once I finally got the new tires, I felt like I had some pace and wanted to use it, but I lost a lot of time in that situation. Leclerc was struggling ahead of me on the previous compound, I lost tons of seconds and of course, I was frustrated. It’s not that I was unhappy with the team’s handling, but it wasn’t clear what they wanted to do. We’ll talk internally. Clearly, neither I nor Charles are where we want to be. Us behind Williams? Yes, James Vowles did a great job. We have a lot of work to do to find performance".
Surely, Ferrari fans would have preferred TV coverage of a battle for the win or at least for the podium. Instead, the broadcast lingered on Leclerc and Hamilton due to the complex team radio discussions between both drivers and the pit wall, negotiating the timing of a double position swap during the race - all in an effort (ultimately unsuccessful) to catch Andrea Kimi Antonelli in sixth place. Before the usual post-race interviews, Ferrari Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur had a conversation in Hamilton’s room. Both later revealed its content. The French manager explained:
"My concern wasn’t about speaking to the media. It was that, between us, we need clarity. In these situations, he needs to understand my position and the feelings from the pit wall. He has to trust me, just like I trust him and Charles. When I make a decision, I make it for Ferrari".
Hamilton described his version of the exchange:
"Fred came into my room. I put my hand on his shoulder and said: Hey, relax a bit. Don’t be so sensitive. I could’ve said worse on the radio. We’ve all heard what others have said over the radio in the past. Part of it was sarcasm. Look, you’ve got to understand there’s a lot of pressure in the car. There are never going to be calm messages during a battle. That’s just how it is. I still feel the fire inside me—I won’t apologize for being a fighter. I won’t apologize for wanting more. I know the team wants that too. I just don’t think the decision was made quickly enough".
Hamilton had been tense throughout the race, largely due to the SF-25’s lack of pace. He spent 22 laps behind Esteban Ocon’s Haas and even criticized race engineer Riccardo Adami for speaking during braking while he was battling the French driver. The real controversy, however, came in the second half of the race, when Hamilton demanded - sarcastically and loudly - a position swap with Leclerc, citing a tire advantage (mediums vs. hards) and a chance to catch Antonelli in P6:
"Go ahead and make yourself a cup of tea while you think about it".
Under Vasseur’s direction, Ferrari agreed to the swap. But since Hamilton couldn’t catch Antonelli, the positions were reversed again - infuriating the British driver even more. Still, Vasseur defended the decision-making:
"Let’s get to the point. It didn’t take us that long - something like a lap and a half. When you have two cars on different strategies, the first thing I need to understand is whether the one behind is faster because of DRS or not. It took a lap to figure that out - so, a minute and a half - then we asked for the swap. We tried to catch the car ahead, and since we didn’t succeed, we asked to revert positions. We have a general policy and we follow it. The point is not to swap and then reverse if we fail to catch the car ahead. The issue is to understand whether the one behind is truly faster or just benefitting from DRS".
No regrets, then, from the French manager:
"Honestly, I think we did what had to be done. You can always debate whether it should have been half a lap sooner or later, but we did our job. I spoke with Lewis and I fully understand his frustration. These are champions - they want to win, and we ask them to let a teammate through. It’s never easy, and I didn’t see any other team doing it today. Above all, we race for Ferrari, and as a team, I think we did well".
Vasseur prefers instead to focus on the team’s real problem:
"We finished P6 and P7 instead of P7 and P6. I’d rather talk about why we finished a minute behind McLaren".
The Ferrari boss continues to identify qualifying as the team’s biggest area for improvement:
"We lost a lot of points in qualifying, where we set our best laps on used tires. We didn’t take full advantage of new tires, even though the lap on used ones wasn’t that bad. We clearly need to improve here. It’s hard to judge race pace when you’re stuck in traffic, but I think we were probably on the same level as Red Bull and Mercedes".
A problem that comes down to tire usage:
"You need to get the tires working in a very narrow window. It changes based on the track, compound, and surface temperature. It’s always after the session that you realize what could’ve been done differently. I think in the last two-three weekends we’ve improved, even though qualifying isn’t our best session. But here, it was our worst of the year - we didn’t extract the full potential from the tires. If you look at the Sprint and the Grand Prix, everyone else improved by 0.5-0.6s, while we lost 0.2-0.3s".
Still, Vasseur acknowledges that even a better qualifying wouldn’t have allowed Ferrari to win:
"I think McLaren were on another planet today. We never said we could fight them, but with a better grid position, we could’ve battled Verstappen and the Mercedes cars".
In Miami, the MCL39 showed its greatest dominance of the season, thanks in part to the circuit’s characteristics:
"Today we were really far off because the car was much more limited on the rear axle, which suits McLaren’s approach. Their superiority was clear. But last time in Jeddah, things were different. In Saudi Arabia, Charles was faster than everyone from lap 10 onwards, once he got out of dirty air. Sometimes we can trouble them, sometimes we can’t - but it’s not enough. Being able to challenge them occasionally is not enough".
To conclude, Vasseur spoke about upcoming races:
"In Barcelona, everyone will have a new front wing, as required by the regulations. Maybe it’ll be a performance reset for all. Before that, we’ve got Imola and Monaco. We’ll bring some updates. Honestly, I think today’s main issue - looking at McLaren - was their ability to extract potential. Compared to the others, their car is much more cohesive. In the next races, our focus will be on putting everything together and getting the best out of the car".