Oscar Piastri controlled in F1 Miami GP win ahead of Lando Norris in McLaren 1-2, as George Russell rounded the podium places.
It was slightly cloudy but dry to start the F1 Miami GP as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen assumed the lead despite a minor lock-up leading into Turn 1. It allowed McLaren’s Lando Norris to be alongside at the exit onto Turn 2, but there was no way to go further for the Brit apart from taking the run-off.
He dropped to sixth as a result as Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli moved up to second from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Mercedes’ George Russell and Williams’ Alexander Albon. The Thai made up two places, as teammate Carlos Sainz was seventh from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.
Haas’ Esteban Ocon rounded the Top 10 from Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar. Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto moved ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, but the Brit managed to get back as soon. Further back, Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson made contact with Alpine’s Jack Doohan.
The Australian was on the inside when the Kiwi turned on him to make contact and spin around. Doohan had a puncture and was forced to retire, as Virtual Safety Car was deployed soon. The incident was reviewed but cleared, which the same case between Verstappen and Norris.
The re-start saw Verstappen maintain the F1 Miami GP lead, but Antonelli came under pressure by Piastri. The Australian eventually cleared him to take second. His teammate Norris cleared Albon for fourth to slot himself behind the fighting Mercedes pair of Antonelli and Russell.
Norris eventually made the move on Russell on Turn 4 to take fifth and a lap later, he cleared Antonelli to move up to third. Russell started to come under pressure from Sainz, who managed to clear his teammate Albon after the Thai racer lost fifth to Norris in his charge.
Leclerc was eighth from Tsunoda and Ocon, as Hamilton cleared Hadjar on re-start. There was a spin for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in his chase of Haas’ Oliver Bearman at the back. But at the front, it was Verstappen putting a strong defence against a faster Piastri. The Australian made multiple attempts.
But he found no way through in a tight circuit. In the meantime, Norris started to close in on the two of them, as the rain threat continued on. After trying for multiple laps, Piastri finally hustled him at Turn 1 to make a mistake and take the F1 Miami GP lead. The Dutchman went wide to allow Piastri through.
Norris closed in on Verstappen as well, but the Brit faced similar issues to pass the Dutchman like the Australian. Norris tried to go outside the Dutchman at Turn 1 but it didn’t work out. All this while, Piastri checked himself at the front to stretch out a good lead to ensure his potential win.
Norris finally got through at Turn 11 but both went off the track when making the pass. The Brit returned the position a couple of corners. Norris eventually came back on Verstappen at the same corner to secure second. This allowed Antonelli to close in on the duo.
He brought Russell along. Albon, meanwhile, defied team orders to pass Sainz for sixth at Turn 11. The Spaniard along with Norris and Verstappen were reviewed for gaining advantage but were cleared. Despite the Williams fight, Leclerc was still eighth in the distant from Tsunoda.
The Japanese didn’t make any inroads as well, as Ocon started to come under pressure from Hamilton for the final point. The two went wheel-to-wheel and Hamilton eventually got through taking the outside line. With the rain not hitting the track as expected, drivers started to pit for slick tyres.
The drivers in the midpack started to pit with the undercut working well. Things changed a bit when Bearman had a power unit failure on Lap 28 as the Virtual Safety Car was deployed again. Piastri and Norris pitted under the VSC to maintain first and second in F1 Miami GP.
Russell delayed his stop and it worked for him despite a slow stop to be third ahead of Verstappen. Antonelli for fifth but not for long as the Thai cleared the Italian to take fifth at Turn 1. Not far behind, Sainz passed Leclerc at the same spot to take seventh which he lost to the Monegasque.
Hamilton jumped Tsunoda to be ninth as the Japanese driver dropped behind Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg. To make the matter worse, the Red Bull driver was handed 5s time penalty for speeding in pitlane. A third VSC period was deployed after Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto stopped due to an issue.
The re-start saw Leclerc make a move on Sainz from the far end of the circuit to take the place at Turn 1. Hamilton almost cleared both with the inside line, but could only manage to clear Sainz for eighth. Tsunoda, meanwhile, passed Hulkenberg for 10th to start his race to create a 5s time buffer.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1919143592674689254
UPDATE: The stewards stated no further action in the case of the collision between Hamilton and Sainz after they found both being guilty party in the incident. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1919167646638965079
Additionally, Russell was pulled by the stewards after Red Bull protested against the Brit for failing to slow under yellow flag. As for the summon to Gasly for failing to slow under yellow, the stewards acknowledged lack of light panels in the area.
In addition, the marshal post was waving the flag with a yellow background which made it difficult for Gasly to spot and seeing no slow or stopped car around, it only compounded the issue. Considering the factors, the stewards let off Gasly with a warning.
Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1919190809020133401
The same happened with Sainz, who slowed after he was informed by the team but it was past the marshal post. The Spaniard was let off with a warning as well. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1919193115161714833
The protest from Red Bull was dismissed by the stewards as Russell retained third. The argument from the team was relating to lifting the throttle but reducing the speed. They described the rule as slowing the absolute speed in the yellow flag zone.
The stewards noted that Russell lifted properly. The Brit’s speed was lower than the regular racing speed, even if absolute speed increased slightly. The stewards explained that reducing the regular racing speed signals that the driver has understood about the yellow flag, but the absolute speed is variable and depends on factors.