Piastri feels he ‘did everything right’ despite Miami Sprint loss

Oscar Piastri was left ruing a twist of fate that saw him surrender a likely Sprint victory at the Miami Grand Prix on Saturday to teammate Lando Norris, despite what he believes was a flawless performance on his part.

The McLaren driver led for the majority of the 18-lap sprint, having muscled past Mercedes’ surprise polesitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the start and managing the tricky wet-to-dry conditions with precision.

But a late-race safety car, triggered by a crash involving Fernando Alonso, played perfectly into Norris’s hands – and cost Piastri the win.

Leading from the Front — Until the Safety Car

After taking control of the race early, Piastri kept teammate Norris and Red Bull's Max Verstappen comfortably at bay on the drying Miami circuit. With conditions evolving rapidly, the strategy window for switching from intermediate to slick tyres opened – and Piastri was the first of the leaders to make the call, hoping to consolidate his advantage.

However, just moments after Norris dove into the pits for his own stop, Alonso was nudged into a spin by Liam Lawson, bringing out the safety car.

That forced Piastri to slow down, allowing Norris to rejoin just ahead and inherit the race lead – a position he held as the sprint concluded behind the safety car.

Speaking after the race, Piastri couldn't hide his frustration with how events unfolded.

“I feel like I did pretty much everything right there, so obviously a bit disappointed to come away with second,” he said.

“But that's how it goes sometimes. Unfortunately, racing is a pretty cruel business. Hopefully that means I've got a bit of luck for this afternoon and tomorrow.

“It was another great start and I had to get my elbows out on that one.”

A Focus on the Bigger Picture

Despite missing out on what would have been a third consecutive win following his Bahrain and Saudi Arabia victories, Piastri only lost two points to Norris in the championship standings.

He now leads his McLaren teammate by nine points heading into Sunday’s main event.

Read also:

• Miami GP: Norris leads McLaren 1-2 in chaotic Sprint

Looking ahead, the Australian remained optimistic and focused on the bigger picture.

“I think we had a little bit of pace on the table in sprint qualifying yesterday and hopefully we can use that for qualifying this afternoon,” he added.

“It'd be nice if the weather could make up its mind. But no, I've been enjoying it and I think we've got a quick car underneath us.”

With McLaren emerging as a genuine contender in both the sprint and main events, Piastri’s measured confidence suggests he’s ready to bounce back – starting with qualifying later in the day.

But for now, the Miami sprint will remain a case of what might have been.

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