A dramatic Sprint
The paddock may not have been in Las Vegas this weekend, but Norris rolled the dice and came out on top, denying his team mate Piastri victory of a Sprint he had led from the very first lap after a masterful pass on polesitter Antonelli.
Dramatic changes in the weather are known to be the great disruptor in F1, and the Miami Sprint was no different. After a heavy spell of rain, the formation lap behind the Safety Car saw drivers hindered by the vast amounts of spray being thrown up by standing water on the circuit, leading to the Sprint being delayed.
READ MORE: Norris wins chaotic Miami Sprint from Piastri and Hamilton after late Safety Car and multiple incidents
The chaos didn’t stop at lights out either, when the conditions were still suboptimal but safe enough to race in. With Antonelli starting from pole for the first time, Piastri sailed past him at the first corner and sent the Mercedes wide, resulting in the rookie dropping back to P4.
But while the damp track aided Piastri to start with, it quickly began to dry out, allowing Norris to close the gap down drastically before the Australian peeled off into the pits for slick tyres with five laps remaining.
Critically, McLaren opted to pit Norris a lap later, and it was whilst he was switching tyres that the Safety Car was called due to a collision between Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson that had left the former stationary on the track. The slowed-down cars therefore meant that the Briton could calmly adopt the lead.
With just a few laps remaining, there wasn’t nearly enough time to clear the Aston Martin, so the Sprint ended behind the Safety Car and Norris claimed the win, echoing his maiden victory at this circuit in 2024.
A smart early move to get rid of the intermediate tyres saw Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton claim the final podium spot, but it took some time for the full order to be set in stone as a trio of penalties relegated Alex Albon, Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman from the top eight.
