The 2025 Miami F1 Grand Prix largely delivered on its promise of excitement.
The opening laps were dramatic, featuring intense wheel-to-wheel racing. Pole-sitter Max Verstappen battled championship leader Oscar Piastri, while Lando Norris, recovering from a difficult start, worked his way back towards the front of the field.
After 57 challenging laps, the increasingly impressive Piastri secured his third consecutive F1 victory, his fourth of the season, and extended his lead in the world championship standings with a confident drive.
The anticipated rainstorm bypassed the Hard Rock Stadium circuit. Three Virtual Safety Cars (VSCs), rather than a full Safety Car, meant the race didn`t get the mid-race reset that might have shaken things up further. Despite this, there was still plenty to analyze.
The packed F1 calendar means we are already a quarter of the way through the championship season and a third of the way through the scheduled Sprint races.
A positive development was 18-year-old Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli. He made F1 history by taking pole position for the Miami Sprint race, becoming the youngest ever to do so, and qualified third for the main Sunday Grand Prix. Brundle describes him as a breath of fresh air and a future star, noting that although he was a touch wild in both races, he`s clearly a fast learner who will refine his approach.
Piastri More Effective and Clinical Than Norris
Lando Norris won the Sprint race, benefiting from a Virtual Safety Car period. However, his chances for outright victory in the main Grand Prix were significantly hampered at the start when he had to react to Max Verstappen`s sliding Red Bull in the first two corners.
Verstappen was determined not to let a McLaren slip past on the inside at Turn 1 as had happened in Jeddah, but he arrived too fast and locked his front tyres. Norris went underneath him as the road ahead was clear, which Brundle states was the only sensible action. However, Verstappen had another moment in Turn 2, forcing Norris, now on the outside, off track into the runoff zone and costing him four positions.
Once Oscar Piastri had passed Antonelli for second place, he aggressively pursued race leader Verstappen. Brundle observes that Piastri possesses excellent race craft that is fractionally more effective and clinical than Norris`s, something Verstappen is aware of.
On Lap 14, Piastri successfully pressured Verstappen into braking too late and going wide into Turn 1. Piastri instinctively reacted to the Red Bull`s slide, perfectly adjusting his line before cutting underneath to take a lead he would hold for the remainder of the race.
Meanwhile, Norris mounted an impressive recovery drive, passing Alex Albon in the Williams and both Mercedes drivers, Antonelli and George Russell. However, Norris couldn`t apply the same tactical pressure on Verstappen as Piastri had. By the time Norris finally passed Verstappen for good on Lap 18 (after briefly giving the position back for overtaking off-track), his teammate Piastri was already nine seconds up the road.
The Virtual Safety Car deployed for Ollie Bearman`s retired Haas played perfectly into McLaren`s hands, allowing them to execute nicely spaced double-stacked pit stops just before racing resumed. From that point onwards, the two McLarens demonstrated pace that was a second per lap faster than the rest of the field, showcasing the car`s true speed on a long run on a dry track. Norris pushed hard to close the gap to Piastri, highlighting this pace advantage.
George Russell had a challenging event, seemingly lacking a couple of tenths of pace, but he maintained composure, managed his car and tyres effectively, and benefited from a well-timed single pit stop during the VSC on Lap 29 to secure another podium finish in third place. His race was nearly compromised by painful stomach cramps in the final 15 laps.
Russell`s pit stop under the VSC helped him move up to third, but Max Verstappen kept him under significant pressure in the closing stages. Verstappen even raised questions about whether Russell lifted the throttle under a yellow flag, leading Red Bull to file a protest after the race. The Stewards, however, rejected the protest, stating it was “not founded”.
Albon in the Form of His Life
Fifth place went to Alex Albon after another excellent and determined race. This performance indicated that Williams was the fourth fastest team on the day, consistent with their showing throughout the weekend. Brundle believes Albon is currently in the “form of his life”.
Carlos Sainz in the second Williams had an eventful race and was carrying damage from contact with his teammate on the first lap. Poor timing with the VSC for his pit stop meant he finished behind the two Ferraris. On the final lap, Sainz made a rather ambitious attempt to pass Lewis Hamilton (the driver who will take his Ferrari seat next year), resulting in contact. Stewards investigated the incident, deemed the contact `avoidable`, and found both drivers equally at fault, taking no further action.
Antonelli finished sixth, experiencing some bad luck by pitting just four laps before the VSC period. He still needs to improve his tyre management, particularly during longer, hotter stints.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished seventh and eighth respectively, following positional swaps and frustrated radio communications. Leclerc finished the 57-lap race 57 seconds behind the leader, clearly demonstrating Ferrari`s significant pace deficit on a difficult weekend.
Hamilton started on hard compound tyres and finished on mediums, while Leclerc did the opposite strategy. When their paths converged, Hamilton, on fresher tyres, rapidly caught his teammate. Hamilton expressed frustration over the team radio, feeling they delayed letting him pass. While F1 radio broadcasts add to the show, comments like Hamilton`s (`take a tea break`, `do you want me to let the Williams past as well`) are memorable. Leclerc was eventually allowed back past as Hamilton`s medium tyres faded, but couldn`t challenge Antonelli ahead.
Yuki Tsunoda finished tenth for RB, managing to hold off teammate Isack Hadjar despite receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This result meant points were shared exclusively among McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, and Ferrari, with two cars from each team finishing in the top ten.
Aston Martin were notably the slowest cars in the race. Brundle suggests that without significant, imminent upgrades, it looks set to be a “long and very painful year” for the Silverstone-based team, which he feels is sad for F1 overall.
There`s a week`s break before the European season kicks off with a triple-header at Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona.
Gilbert Pendleton 
Wesley Dunham