MIAMI — Lando Norris won a chaotic sprint race in Miami ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Norris emerged in front of his teammate after a fortuitous safety car timed right as he left the pits after swapping his intermediate wet tires for slicks. That meant Piastri, who had led since muscling Andrea Kimi Antonelli out of the lead at Turn 1, had to slow at a crucial moment as he approached the start-finish line with four laps left.
The win will be a morale boost for Norris after losing the championship lead to Piastri at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix two weeks ago.
“My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the minute, so I’m happy,” Norris said afterwards.
On the safety car undercut, he added: “It’s worked two years in a row. I probably would prefer if this happened tomorrow rather than today, but I’ll take it. I’m happy. Good job by the team. It was good fun.”
Meanwhile, Piastri summed up his feelings on the team radio: “I don’t think I will be buying any lottery tickets at this place.”
Piastri will take comfort from the fact that, under the rules of the sprint format, he only lost one point from his 10-point championship lead over the Englishman.
After the race, the Australian added racing is a “pretty cruel business.
“I did pretty much everything right. A bit disappointed to come away with second but that’s how it goes sometimes,” he said. “Hopefully that means I get a bit of luck this afternoon in qualifying and tomorrow.
“But, another great start and I had to get my elbows out in that one. Happy with what I did.”
Hamilton also claimed an overdue return to the podium for Ferrari after a brilliantly timed early stop for the dry tire. A prerace rain shower caught out Hamilton’s teammate, Charles Leclerc, who crashed out on the way to the grid, meaning he failed to start the race.
An elated Hamilton said afterwards: “I’m so happy with that! It’s been a tough year so far, but to have… I never thought it was going to rain in Miami. It was the first time that we’ve all been on track in the wet here, and what a race it provided us.”
Hamilton started seventh and was struggling on intermediate tires. He made a stop on Lap 12 for soft tires when the track started to dry and roared up the order as a result, as did Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll who made the same call. “Great job in the pits, guys,” Hamilton said to Ferrari on the radio late on. “Mega job.”
The changing conditions triggered chaos, none more so for Mercedes teen sensation Antonelli, who had on Friday evening become the youngest person to take a pole for an F1 event.
Antonelli ran wide at Turn 1 after Piastri’s strong start and dropped to fourth. “He pushed me off,” the Italian complained after the move, but the stewards deemed no further action. “Normal Turn 1,” Antonelli’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, later told him, with Antonelli replying: “Good to know.”
Antonelli’s race would unravel further as the pit stops started. As he approached Mercedes’ pit box to switch from wets to dry, Red Bull released Max Verstappen from his pit box — located right before Antonelli’s spot — at the same time.
Verstappen made contact with Antonelli’s car as he exited, forcing the teenager to miss the box and essentially go round again before making his stop for wet tires.
He dropped out of the points as a result. When Antonelli vented his frustration over the radio, team boss Toto Wolff told him: “Kimi, mini race, not relevant.”
Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty for the collision, which was deemed an unsafe release by stewards, which dropped him to 17th position.
The safety car was triggered shortly afterward, when Liam Lawson drove into the path of Fernando Alonso, who spun out and into the wall.
Lawson finished seventh, but is likely to have a penalty for the collision.
Alex Albon claimed a brilliant fourth for Williams ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and Stroll.
Haas’ Oliver Bearman continued his strong form in eighth — likely to become seventh — while Yuki Tsunoda put himself in the perfect place to capitalize on a Lawson penalty in ninth position.
Unlike Sunday’s grand prix, points are only awarded to the top eight finishers.
The Miami Grand Prix continues with qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
