2025 Miami GP Sprint Race: Full Report & Highlights

Lando Norris emerged victorious in a chaotic and rain-hit Sprint Race at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix, capitalising on changing conditions and a perfectly timed pit stop under the Safety Car to claim his second win of the 2025 season.

The McLaren driver, who had started third, judged the evolving grip levels and strategic chaos to perfection, vaulting ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri late in the race to secure a 1-2 finish for the Woking squad. Lewis Hamilton rounded out the podium with an inspired early switch to slicks, salvaging a strong result for Ferrari after team-mate Charles Leclerc crashed on his way to the grid.

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Drama began before the race even officially started. Torrential rain lashed the Miami International Autodrome just before the formation lap, catching out Leclerc, who aquaplaned into the barriers en route to the start. The incident triggered a red flag as visibility and grip worsened, forcing Race Control to delay the action while the circuit conditions stabilised. Once the cars returned to the grid, all but Carlos Sainz opted for intermediate tyres, and the field lined up behind the Safety Car for a revised 16-lap dash.

When racing finally got underway, pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli lost out immediately, running wide at Turn 1 after being pressured by Piastri. The young Italian dropped to fourth as Norris and Verstappen slotted in behind the new race leader. While Piastri began to stretch a small gap out front, the drying track soon invited the inevitable switch to slicks. First to gamble were Yuki Tsunoda and Hamilton, the latter’s early move to softs turning out to be a masterstroke as grip levels improved rapidly.

Chaos erupted in the pit lane when Verstappen and Antonelli pitted on the same lap. A misjudged Red Bull release sent Verstappen directly into Antonelli’s path, causing a collision that damaged the Dutchman’s front wing and forced Antonelli to miss his pit box entirely. Both would suffer in the aftermath: Verstappen received a 10-second penalty and dropped to 17th, while Antonelli, once a potential podium contender, tumbled down the order and finished 10th — just outside the points.

Back on track, Piastri blinked first among the leaders, pitting on Lap 14 for medium tyres, temporarily surrendering the lead to Norris. Moments later, Fernando Alonso crashed out following contact with Liam Lawson, triggering a Safety Car that would prove decisive. Norris pitted immediately, losing far less time under yellow flag conditions and re-emerging ahead of his team-mate. The Briton then held position until the chequered flag to secure his first Sprint win since Australia.

Behind the McLaren duo, Hamilton’s slick tyre gamble paid off handsomely as he finished third, continuing a promising streak of Sprint results for Ferrari. Alex Albon delivered another standout performance for Williams to claim fourth, although he was later under investigation for a potential Safety Car infringement. George Russell took fifth for Mercedes, followed by Lance Stroll in sixth, Lawson in seventh — also being investigated for the Alonso incident — and Ollie Bearman claiming the final point in eighth.

It was a nightmare race for world champion Max Verstappen, who failed to score for the first time in 2025 and finished last after his penalty. Antonelli’s day went from dream pole to disaster as he was shuffled out of the points in tenth, while Ferrari’s hopes were left in tatters with Leclerc out before the lights even went out. The 2025 season had already delivered its fair share of surprises, but Miami added another layer of unpredictability — and tightened the title fight, with Norris closing the gap to Piastri to just nine points ahead of Sunday’s main Grand Prix.

Just before qualifying began, Haas driver Ollie Bearman, Williams’ Alex Albon, and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson each received five-second time penalties for a myriad of incidents during the eventful Sprint at the Miami International Autodrome. Bearman’s for being released into the pit lane, directly into the path of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, dropping Bearman from P8 (where he had claimed the final point of the Sprint) to P14. Albon in fourth was demoted to P12 after he failed to stay above the minimum time under Safety Car conditions. And lastly, Lawson failed to escape a five-second penalty and an additional penalty point for his collision with Fernando Alonso during an attempted overtake, which saw the Aston Martin racer retire from the Sprint.

The trio of decisions promoted Yuki Tsunoda to receive three points for Red Bull Racing, and Antonelli, who had dropped down the order following his pit lane incident with Verstappen, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly were also pushed up into the points.

2025 Miami GP Sprint Race Results

2025 Miami Grand Prix Sprint Race, 3 May 2025