CNN
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Oscar Piastri continued his ferocious form to begin the 2025 Formula One season as he claimed a dominant victory at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
Max Verstappen took the lead early after starting pole position, but Piastri was able to overtake the Dutch driver on lap 14 and never looked back.
McLaren was 1-2 in Florida as Landnoris overtook Verstappen four laps later, and two Papaya cars set a distance between themselves and the other packs. Norris, who came in second, finished 38 seconds ahead with Mercedes’ George Russell in third place.
Piastri’s victory – already in the fourth of the season – has maintained his third consecutive lead in the driver’s championship standings, leading teammate Norris 16 points. He is the first McLaren driver to win three consecutive Grand Prixes since Mika Häkkinen in 1997-98.
But despite his excellent driving, the Australian driver says he has a lot to work on going forward, particularly highlighting his performance in Saturday’s qualifying round.
“I don’t think this weekend was my best, and a lot of that was yesterday. Today’s race was pretty solid, but yesterday I was pretty frustrated with my performance,” Piastri told reporters. “In the end, yes, I won the race this weekend, but I think it’s pretty unlikely to win the fourth qualifying race.
“We did a lot today, but there was definitely some good fortune and a very fast car out there. We don’t want to rely on every Sunday. Obviously, this is the exception to this year’s pace. Yes, we’ve always had strong cars, but today’s pace felt like it was unexpected for us as well.”
The only downside to Piastri of Sunday’s results was his post-race celebration, he says.
The 24-year-old played gridi dance after jumping out of the car and placed a bet with Minnesota Viking star Justin Jefferson (who popularized dance with a touchdown celebration).
Piastri then admitted that his Gridi “needs a bit of work” and said he didn’t practice after qualifying because he thought winning on Sunday was a long shot.
“It was my first attempt at Gridy Live on world television. I remained true to the bet, but that’s the only time I’ll see you do it to me,” he told reporters.
Jefferson gave Piastri’s efforts a seal of approval, writing on Instagram:
It was a typical Miami star-studded event for the Grand Prix, with celebrities attending such as actor Timote Chalametto, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Blackpink star Lisa.
And it was a unique accumulation of racing, not a typical truck, but a fully driveable LEGO model of F1 cars, with each driver taking part in a driver’s parade.
The car, made of around 400,000 Lego Bricks, was modeled on the driver’s car, decorated with unique numbers and liver, and was driven around the course before the race.
His former team had success, but Lewis Hamilton was entrusted with an eighth finish as his debut season with Ferrari continues to stomp.
Seven-time world champions have begun 12th On the grid, he was able to fight in his way, three seconds behind his teammate Charles Leclerc, finishing over a minute behind Piastri.
And Hamilton’s frustration in his early season – he placed seventh in the driver’s championship standings and scored 90 points from Piastri – apparent during his race in a brief exchange on the radio with his Ferrari team.
At the mid-race pit stop, Hamilton found some speed and approach to Leclair. However, initially instructed both drivers to hold position, so Ferrari engineers instructed Leclerc to give his position to Hamilton a few laps later.
Hamilton was clearly annoyed by the delay in instructions and told the engineer “I can do a tea break while you’re there.” After being ultimately given permission to pass through Leclerc, he said the delay was “not teamwork,” and later when Williams’ Carlos Sainz was told he was on his tail, he sarcastically asked if he wanted him to “pass through the sign.”
The British driver then said the comments were made in the struggle of competition and he still had “that fire in my belly.”
“I lost a lot of time behind Charles. At that moment, I certainly said, ‘Now, let’s make a very quick and concise decision, don’t waste your time,” the 40-year-old told Sky Sports.
“I’m sure people didn’t like certain comments, but you have to realize that it’s frustrating. People say worse things than I say. It was more ironic than anything else, so I’m not frustrated now.
He added: “I’m not emotional about it. We’re here for the race. We don’t want to be there. I still have that fire in my belly. I could feel it really comes out there. And I’m not going to apologise for being a fighter.
