MIAMI — Lando Norris continued his winning ways at the Miami Grand Prix, topping Saturday’s Sprint Race held at the Miami Int’l Autodrome as a precursor to Sunday’s race.
Norris, who won last year’s Miami Grand Prix for his first Formula 1 victory, used a perfectly timed pit stop during a late Safety Car period to hold the lead and finish ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
“My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the minute so I’m happy,” Norris said. “The pace was still very good. It’s always just difficult, these races, you never know when to box. You box early – it paid off for Lewis and he had a good strategy – or do you stay out later and maybe get the Safety Car?
“It’s worked two years in a row. I would probably prefer if this happened tomorrow rather than today but I’ll take it. I’m happy. A good job by the team so it was good fun.
“(Winning the Grand Prix is) the plan, but it’s tricky. There’s a lot of quick guys out there. I felt good yesterday to be honest, a couple of little mistakes but I’m ready to go again, so excited.”
Heavy rain fell prior to the event, with the conditions catching out Charles Leclerc who crashed en route to the grid, putting him out of the running before the start and visibility challenges leading to a red flag.
When the Sprint began under improved conditions, polesitter Kimi Antonelli lost out at the start to Piastri, the McLaren man holding the inside line at Turn 1 to move ahead while Antonelli suffered a wide moment and slipped down to fourth.
And while Piastri held a steady lead for several laps – amid various drivers pitting for slicks — a chaotic sequence of events later in proceedings saw Norris become the new leader after Piastri pitted, a position the Briton held onto as he made his own stop just as the Safety Car was called following a Fernando Alonso crash.
Norris led Piastri to the checkered flag.
“I feel like I did pretty much everything right there so obviously a bit disappointing to come away with second,” Piastri said. “That’s how it goes sometimes, unfortunately racing is a pretty cruel business.”
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton brought his Ferrari home third, while Alex Albon for Williams and Mercedes driver George Russell completed the top five.
With Norris leading home Piastri for a McLaren 1-2, Lewis Hamilton took third place after pitting early in a solid strategy call from Ferrari, while Williams’ Alex Albon was fourth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Haas’ Ollie Bearman in the rest of the points-paying positions, though both Lawson and Albon are set to be investigated by the stewards for separate incidents after the Sprint.
Max Verstappen crossed the line fourth, but was issued a 10-second penalty after pitlane contact with Kimi Antonelli.
