Lando Norris Triumphs in a Wet-to-Dry Win at the Miami Grand Prix Sprint

In an incident-packed Saturday afternoon sprint, McLaren driver Lando Norris snatched a wet-to-dry win at Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix. The race was reduced to 18 laps due to adverse weather conditions, two of which were completed under the safety car following a delayed start due to poor visibility.

A Tactical Race with Twists and Turns

After a 28-minute delay, the race received a standing start. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who had secured the maiden sprint pole position, attempted to defend his lead from McLaren‘s Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were on the second row. However, as Piastri lunged down the inside into Turn 1, Antonelli went off the track, dropping to fourth behind Norris and Verstappen, with Mercedes team-mate George Russell just ahead.

From the front, championship leader Piastri managed the race relatively comfortably, taking care of his intermediate tyres as a dry racing line gradually emerged. Norris began putting pressure on Piastri, dispatching third-placed Verstappen in the Red Bull.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda was the first to gamble for slicks on lap 11, providing valuable information to the rest of the field as they monitored his lap times on medium Pirellis. Lewis Hamilton, who had struggled on intermediates, followed Tsunoda into the pits the next tour despite only six laps remaining.

Verstappen and Antonelli both pitted for slicks on lap 13, but their encounter resulted in damage to Verstappen’s front wing, while Antonelli was forced to drive through without stopping in his box. Hamilton’s searing soft-tyre pace forced Piastri and Norris to react by pitting for mediums, causing a safety car due to a Fernando Alonso crash after contact with Liam Lawson.

Crucially, Norris emerged from the pits ahead of Piastri, handing the Briton the lead behind the safety car. Hamilton passed Piastri’s damaged Red Bull to take second place, while Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release, demoting him to 17th.

Albon finished fourth for Williams ahead of Russell, with Lance Stroll taking a strong sixth for Aston Martin. Lawson was seventh for Racing Bulls after rocketing into the top 10 from his 15th grid spot, while Haas’ Oliver Bearman took the final point in eighth.

Antonelli had to pit again for medium tyres due to his encounter with Verstappen, dropping him out of the points in 10th. Charles Leclerc failed to make the start after crashing out on the laps to the grid, aquaplaning off the road in his Ferrari while on intermediate tyres.

By defeating Piastri in the sprint, Norris reduced his championship deficit from 10 to nine points.