McLaren’s Oscar Piastri Reflects on Close Call at Miami GP Sprint

McLaren‘s rising star, Oscar Piastri, felt he had done “everything right” but ended up second in the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix sprint race. After a strong start that saw him overtake Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Piastri led the pack, with Lando Norris close behind on a drying track.

A Late Safety Car Intervention Changes the Game

In the final stages of the 18-lap race, Lewis Hamilton’s pit stop for faster slick tyres started putting pressure on Piastri and Norris to follow suit. When Piastri pitted first, a safety car was deployed due to an incident involving Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson. This forced Piastri to slow down, allowing Norris to take the lead and claim the sprint win as the race ended under the safety car.

Afterwards, Piastri expressed his disappointment, stating, “I feel like I did pretty much everything right there, so obviously a bit disappointed to come away with second.” He added, “But that’s how it goes sometimes. Unfortunately, racing is a pretty cruel business. Hopefully, that means I’ve got a bit of luck for this afternoon and tomorrow.

Despite the setback, Piastri only suffered a two-point swing in the championship, maintaining a nine-point lead over Norris as they prepare for another pole battle in grand prix qualifying later on Saturday afternoon. “I think we had a little bit of pace on the table in sprint qualifying yesterday and hopefully we can use that for qualifying this afternoon,” he said.

Piastri also hoped for some consistency in the weather conditions, expressing his enjoyment of the race so far. “It’d be nice if the weather could make up its mind,” he added. “But no, I’ve been enjoying it and I think we’ve got a quick car underneath us.