Norris wins chaotic Miami Sprint

Lando Norris capitalized on a late-race safety car to leapfrog McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and win a chaotic wet-dry Miami Sprint.

The race got underway almost half an hour behind schedule after heavy rain doused the circuit during the 90 minutes before its original start time. Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari on his way to the grid, and the safety car led the field for two formation laps before a red flag suspended the start due to heavy spray.

“The visibility is genuinely the worst I’ve ever had in a race car,” Piastri radioed his team shortly before the cars were returned to pit lane to wait out the weather.

The delay lasted 28 minutes, after which race control ordered two more formation laps behind the safety car — counting towards the 18-lap race distance — and a standing start on intermediate tires.

Piastri reacted to the lights fractionally faster than Antonelli, and by the time they reached the apex, the Australian had claimed the corner.

Antonelli attempted to squeeze him as they turned in, but it only had the effect of sending him sailing off the track. In the slippery conditions it cost him another two places, dropping him to fourth.

The teenager radioed that he’d been pushed off the road, but the stewards decided no investigation was necessary. The decision left Piastri in the lead ahead of Norris, the gap between them out to 1.5s by the end of the first lap and growing to 3s by the time the sprint reached half distance.

But by then the circuit was beginning to dry rapidly, and the improving conditions triggered Red Bull Racing to haul Yuki Tsunoda into pit lane for a set of medium tires, the Japanese driver running 17th and having nothing to lose.

Lewis Hamilton followed suit from an uninspired sixth, and suddenly the entire field was in pit lane switching to dry rubber to capitalize on the drying track.

In the chaos Max Verstappen was released from his pit box into the path of Antonelli, damaging his front wing and incurring a 10s penalty. Antonelli had been turning into his pit box when he was struck, forcing him to bail back into the fast lane and return to pit lane a second time on the following tour, dropping him out of the points.

McLaren opted against immediately pitting in response, and on wearing intermediate tires the momentum swung away from Piastri and back towards Norris, who slashed his deficit to all but nothing by lap 12.

The Briton harried the Australian until on lap 13, when Piastri was called into the pits for a switch to medium tires, appearing to preserve his lead ahead of a field that had almost entirely switched to slicks.

Norris had to wait another lap before switching compounds, but just as it was in the Miami Grand Prix last season, luck was on his side, with a safety car called just as he entered pit lane, slowing the field and allowing him to rejoin the race in first place.

The safety car was required to collect Fernando Alonso’s wrecked Aston Martin, the Spaniard having been tipped into a spin at Turn 12 by an errant Liam Lawson. The Kiwi had complained earlier in the sprint that his visor was misting up, leaving him with reduced visibility.

LAP 15/18

SAFETY CAR

Fernando Alonso has crashed and the Safety Car is deployed. Alonso is out of the car#F1 #F1Sprint #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/Z3IyAeb8Ny

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 3, 2025

Not only did this move Norris into first place, but with only four laps remaining when the safety car was called, the sprint ended under caution, preventing Piastri from challenging him for the lead and securing Norris victory.

“My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the minute, so I’m happy,” he said. “But the pace as still very good.

“It’s always just difficult, these races. You never know when to box — do you box early or do you stay out later and maybe get the safety car? It’s worked out two years in a row.

“I’m happy. Good job by the team. It was good fun.”

Safety car luck swung Norris’s way in Miami again, to Piastri’s chagrin. Steven Tee/Getty Images

Piastri’s championship plead is reduced to nine points, and the Australian rued the safety car depriving him of what would have been a straightforward victory.

“I feel like I did pretty much everything right there,” he said. “Obviously a bit disappointed to come away with second, but that’s how it goes sometimes unfortunately. Hopefully that means I’ve got a bit of luck for this afternoon and tomorrow.”

Hamilton’s early switch to soft tires proved perfectly timed, promoting the Ferrari driver to third to retain his perfect podium record in Sprints this year, having won the previous short race in Shanghai.

“I’m so happy with that,” he said. “It’s been a tough year so far.

“I really, really did struggle on the inters — I think everyone was struggling on them. I took the risk, took the gamble, and it paid off.”

His gain dropped Verstappen to fourth, but the Dutchman was dropped to 17th and last after having his 10s penalty applied after the race, when the field remained bunched up in safety car formation.

It promoted Alex Albon to fourth ahead of George Russell and Lance Stroll, who gained a remarkable 10 places after switching to slicks on the same lap as Hamilton.

Lawson finished seventh but will be fortunate to keep it following a post-race investigation for crashing into Alonso.

Oliver Bearman beat Yuki Tsunoda to the final point for eighth, both up 11 places, but the Briton will see the stewards after the race regarding an unsafe release involving Nico Hulkenberg.

Pole-getter Antonelli finished 10th but stands a chance of scoring the final point of the race with potential penalties ahead.

Pierre Gasly finished 11th ahead of Hulkenberg, Isack Hadjar, Esteban Ocon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Jack Doohan and the penalized Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz joined Alonso on the retirement list after clipped in the apex wall turning into the chicane, while Leclerc failed to start after his reconnaissance-lap crash.