Lando Norris won the sprint in Miami.
Cloudy. Dry. Air +32°C, track +47…50°C
Several factors led to the power dynamics in Miami being different from those in the first three Grands Prix. The long forced break after Suzuki allowed teams to refine their cars, the amendments to the regulations regarding the distribution of power units accepted before Miami, and the first truly hot weekend for the new generation cars – all of this influenced the starting positions of the drivers in varying degrees for Saturday's sprint.
Some teams took two steps forward and clearly improved, others took one step – and stayed in place, while those who made no progress fell back. Aston Martin brought no updates to the event – and did not meet the 107% rule, so the stewards had to make the usual exception, allowing them to start. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso's time (1:41.311) was worse than that of the last qualifier in Formula 2, Kian Shields (1:41.157). Truly a "GP2 engine."
In the first three Grands Prix, Mercedes drivers confidently secured four pole positions (one of them in the sprint), but in the fourth stage, the reigning champion Lando Norris won the qualifying for the sprint.
Norris and Antonelli started the sprint from the front row of the grid, Piastri and Leclerc from the second, Verstappen and Russell from the third. Everyone wanted to confirm that their success in qualifying was not a fluke, especially since there might not be another chance on Sunday – rain and thunderstorms are promised on race day.
Arvid Lindblad was supposed to start from the pit lane – the team violated the closed park rules by working on his car – but did not take to the start, nor did Nico Hülkenberg – his Audi smoked on the way to the grid, and he left the car.
Before the start, a minute of silence was announced in memory of Alessandro Zanardi, who passed away the day before.
Pirelli brought the "soft" trio of compounds – C3, C4, and C5 as Hard, Medium, and Soft. In the sprint, Perez and Bottas started on Hard, Alonso and Stroll on Soft, the rest on Medium.
At the start, Norris maintained the lead. Piastri and Leclerc overtook Antonelli, Russell and Hamilton overtook Verstappen.
Verstappen had contacts with Hamilton and Gasly at the start – without consequences.
The top ten on lap 2: Norris - Piastri - Leclerc - Antonelli - Russell - Hamilton - Verstappen - Gasly - Colapinto - Bortoleto.
On lap 2, Sainz overtook Perez in the battle for 14th place.
Antonelli pressured Leclerc, and Charles complained to his engineer that Kimi was dangerously moving on the brakes.
On lap 8, Russell overtook Antonelli in the battle for fourth place, while Verstappen pushed Hamilton off the track in the fight for sixth, but on lap 9, Max regained the position.
On lap 10, Antonelli overtook Russell, and Verstappen overtook Hamilton.
The top ten on lap 11: Norris - Piastri - Leclerc - Antonelli - Russell - Verstappen - Hamilton - Gasly - Colapinto - Hadjar.
Ocon's car lost a piece of carbon, which Berman hit – the track was littered with debris.
Antonelli was warned with a black-and-white flag for violating track limits.
On lap 12, Sainz overtook Albon in the battle for 14th place.
On lap 14, Albon turned into the pits, changing a damaged nose cone.
On lap 18, Hadjar overtook Colapinto, moving up to ninth place.
On lap 19, Antonelli again violated track limits, receiving a five-second penalty.
Lando Norris crossed the finish line first, achieving his fourth career victory in sprints – and his second consecutive sprint win in Miami. Oscar Piastri finished second – a winning double for McLaren. Charles Leclerc finished third.
Due to the penalty, Antonelli dropped from fourth to sixth in the standings. After the finish, Gabriel Bortoleto was disqualified – his car did not comply with the technical regulations.
Very soon – qualifying for the main race of the weekend.
Sprint results
Driver
Team
Time
Speed
Pit
1. L.Norris
McLaren
29:15.045
210.599
0
2. O.Piastri
McLaren
+3.766
210.148
0
3. C.Leclerc
Ferrari
+6.251
209.852
0
4. D.Russell
Mercedes
+12.951
209.057
0
5. M.Verstappen
Red Bull
+13.639
208.975
0
6. K.Antonelli
Mercedes
+13.777
208.959
0
7. L.Hamilton
Ferrari
+21.665
208.031
0
8. P.Gasly
Alpine
+30.525
206.999
0
9. A.Hadjar
Red Bull
+35.346
206.442
0
10. F.Colapinto
Alpine
+36.970
206.254
0
DQ. G.Bortoleto
Audi
+48.438
204.943
0
11. E.Ocon
Haas
+56.972
203.978
0
12. O.Berman
Haas
+57.365
203.933
0
13. C.Sainz
Williams
+58.504
203.805
0
14. L.Lawson
Racing Bulls
+59.358
203.709
0
15. F.Alonso
Aston Martin
+76.067
201.851
0
16. S.Perez
Cadillac
+76.691
201.782
0
17. L.Stroll
Aston Martin
+77.626
201.679
0
18. A.Albon
Williams
+88.173
200.525
1
19. V.Bottas
Cadillac
+89.597
200.370
0
* Kimi Antonelli was penalized with a 5-second addition for violating track limits.
DQ – Gabriel Bortoleto disqualified for non-compliance of the car with the technical regulations.
Fastest lap: Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:31.885 (lap 10, 212.038 km/h).
Reasons for retirements
Driver
Team
Laps
Reason
N.Hülkenberg
Audi
-
mechanical issues / did not start
A.Lindblad
Racing Bulls
-
mechanical issues / did not start
Championship standings: Personal standings
Driver
Country
Team
Points
=
1. K.Antonelli
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
75
=
2. D.Russell
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
68
=
3. C.Leclerc
Scuderia Ferrari HP
55
=
4. L.Hamilton
Scuderia Ferrari HP
43
=
5. L.Norris
McLaren Mastercard F1 Team
33
=
6. O.Piastri
McLaren Mastercard F1 Team
28
=
7. O.Berman
TGR Haas F1 Team
17
=
8. P.Gasly
BWT Alpine F1 Team
16
=
9. M.Verstappen
Oracle Red Bull Racing
16
=
10. L.Lawson
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team
10
=
11. A.Lindblad
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team
4
=
12. A.Hadjar
Oracle Red Bull Racing
4
=
13. G.Bortoleto
Audi Revolut F1 Team
2
=
14. C.Sainz
Atlassian Williams Racing
2
=
15. E.Ocon
TGR Haas F1 Team
1
=
16. F.Colapinto
BWT Alpine F1 Team
1
Championship standings: Constructors' Cup
Team
Engine
Points
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