After an uneasy run of form, the Brit benefitting from a perfectly timed safety car to leapfrog teammate Oscar Piastri and take victory in a chaotic Miami sprint race. One that saw Norris fractionally reduce the championship deficit to his teammate and put daylight between himself and Max Verstappen.
After a history-making run to pole position in sprint qualifying, Kimi Antonelli’s time in the lead was ultimately short-lived. Having been delayed due to the rain and a crash for Charles Leclerc on his reconnaissance lap, the race start ultimately went to Piastri. Antonelli tried to hold his own around the outside of turn one but in doing so ran wide and slipped to fourth place. Piastri soon built up a buffer to second place Norris, until the track started to dry around lap 8. Yuki Tsunoda was the first to pit for slicks followed by Hamilton on lap 12. It was during his pitstop that Max Verstappen’s race was curtailed, a mistimed release sent the reigning champion on a collision course with Antonelli’s Mercedes. The subsequent coming together cost Verstappen his end plate and forced Antonelli to abandon his pitstop. Verstappen would later be caught and passed by a hard-charging Lewis Hamilton for third before being given a ten-second time penalty for an unsafe release.
In contrast to the rest of the front runners, the McLarens decided to run long on their intermediates. Piastri was called in first on lap 13 which, with Norris coming in a lap later, should have afforded the Australian the undercut. However, a coming together between Liam Lawson and Fernando Alonso brought out the safety car just as Norris made his way to his pit box. Consequently, Norris was able to reach the safety car line ahead of his teammate and gain track position. A move that would prove crucial as the final four laps were run behind the safety car. Norris had a clear run to victory, with Piastri settling for second. Having had the win taken away through no fault of his own, the Australian remarked that he “won’t be buying any lottery tickets in this place”. Behind them, Lewis Hamilton was able to end his unedifying run of form with a podium ahead of George Russell. The late race drama meant a slew of time penalties upended the original results. Alex Albon originally finished fourth but was given a five-second time penalty for a safety car infringement, Liam Lawson’s rollercoaster of a season hit another snag, the Kiwi being handed a five-second time penalty for his collision with Alonso, while Ollie Bearman’s impressive run from 19th to 9th was ultimately in vain as he too was given a five-second penalty for an unsafe release. As a result, Lance Stroll added to his points tally with fifth, and Yuki Tsunoda, having started from the pitlane, secured a points-paying position with sixth. As did Antonelli in seventh, though that was of little consolation to the 18-year-old.
Having finished fourth on the road, Max Verstappen was dropped back to 17th and last due to his ten-second time penalty. This marks the first time since Belgium 2016 that Verstappen has finished outside the top 10 in any race format. With Norris taking the win, he’s cut Piastri’s championship lead to nine points, but with Verstappen failing to score, the reigning world champion now finds himself 20 points adrift. McLaren seem to have the edge in race pace but with rain expected on Sunday, it's still unclear as to who will prevail in Miami.
