Lando Norris got the strategy worked out in his favour with some luck to win F1 Miami GP sprint from Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton.
In a twist, the F1 Miami GP sprint race started under wet condition. Even before the start, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was out of 19-lap race due to an off on the reconnaissance lap on the intermediate tyre. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda started from the pitlane due to suspension change.
After couple of formation laps behind the safety car, the FIA halted the proceedings due to bad conditions. After a lengthy wait, things got going and after couple of formation laps, they opted for a standing start. It was a big one from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to take F1 Miami GP sprint lead.
He had a good getaway and managed to fend off Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who had a wide moment to drop back to fourth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen passing the Italian rookie to take second and third. The move was noted, but there was no further investigation.
The Dutchman was noted for out of position on the grid but he was cleared as well. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was sixth from Williams’ Alexander Albon, as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso made up two places to be eighth and in the points, ahead of Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson.
The Kiwi made up five places to be ninth ahead of teammate Isack Hadjar and another gainer in Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin. The fight for 12th went for 4-5 laps between Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Carlos Sainz, where the duo switched places multiple times but the Frenchman was ahead.
The visor problems hit Lawson and Verstappen, where both complained that they were unable to see. The Top 3 remained intact but Antonelli came under pressure from teammate Russell. Just behind, Hamilton had Albon on his tail in the fight for sixth, as Tsunoda made the call to pit for slicks on Lap 11.
He was followed by Hamilton from the points along with Stroll and Sainz. A lap later several dived into the pits but Verstappen had a moment in the pits against Antonelli, who was booked for unsafe release. Replays showed Red Bull released the Dutchman on the path of the Italian.
It disallowed Antonelli from pitting where he had to go around again to drop himself out of the points. The pit stop melee saw Sainz hit the barrier in the chicane to limp back to the pits to retire. The safety car was deployed after Lawson made contact with Alonso to throw him into the wall.
The timing worked perfect for Norris who pitted a lap after Piastri. He assumed the lead of F1 Miami GP sprint race from his teammate, as Hamilton pushed himself up to third after passing Verstappen. The Dutchman was handed a 10s time penalty, which pretty much sealed his fate to lose points.
Albon was fifth from Russell, Stroll and Lawson in the points places, with Haas’ Oliver Bearman in ninth from Tsunoda. The incident didn’t allow any chance of racing, with Norris securing the F1 Miami GP sprint win ahead of Piastri and Hamilton, ahead of Albon after penalty to Verstappen.
Russell was fifth from Stroll, Lawson and Bearman, with Tsunoda missing out in ninth but has a chance to score if the Kiwi is penalised for his incident with Alonso. In the meantime, Antonelli ended up 10th, as Verstappen dropped to last after his penalty was added to his total time.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1918713723222405457
UPDATE: Post the sprint race, three drivers were handed time penalties for different offences. Albon was the biggest loser after getting 5s time penalty as he was below the minimum ECU time set for three sectors. He didn’t get a penalty points as the conditions meant, he didn’t pose and danger.
Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1918756131490373925
Lawson was another to get a 5s time penalty after his collision with Alonso, where the stewards believed that the Kiwi did not fulfill the driving guidelines in the corner. His front axle was not ahead even though they were side-by-side. The nature of the circuit played a role too. He was handed one penalty point on his superlicense too.
Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1918757848269402491
Bearman was the third to get a 5s time penalty for Haas’ unsafe release into Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1918744359932957052
Leclerc, meanwhile, was handed a reprimand for driving after he continued driving despite the damage after his crash. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1918756239304954175
As a result of the time penalties, Albon, Lawson and Bearman lose their points positions. Russell moved up to finish fourth and Stroll fifth. The three to end up in points were Tsunoda in sixth, Antonelli seventh and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly eighth.