Miami (AFP) – World champion Lando Norris won Saturday’s sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix, leading home team-mate Oscar Piastri in a convincing 1-2 triumph that confirmed McLaren were back in top form. The 26-year-old Briton finished the 19-lap race at Miami International Autodrome 3.766 seconds clear of Piastri, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finishing third ahead of George Russell of Mercedes and four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull. Championship-leading Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli, the youngest man to lead the title race in F1 history, finished sixth after being given a five-second penalty that cost him a place for exceeding track limits excessively. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was seventh for Ferrari ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who took the final single point in eighth.
It was Norris’s fourth sprint win and McLaren’s second consecutive 1-2 in Miami, a triumph that team chief Andrea Stella dedicated to the memory of former F1 driver Alex Zanardi. The win also marked the first race this year not won by Mercedes. “Let’s do it all again,” said a confident Norris on team radio, adding, “It was a good race -– and nice to be back on the top step,” after climbing from his car. “A massive job by the team in bringing the upgrades -– I know everyone is saying the same thing, but ours have really helped. It was hot and sweaty out there and I tried to balance between pushing and not making mistakes.”
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Piastri said: “It was a good morning. Now let’s see what we can do in qualifying.” Added Leclerc: “The upgrades worked well. I’m satisfied with that, but unfortunately not with P3. I wish we were a bit higher.” On a day of sizzling heat, the race was preceded by a minute’s silence in memory of Italian former F1 driver and Paralympic handcycling champion Alex Zanardi, who died Friday at 59. Only 18 drivers formed the grid, with Arvid Lindblad starting from the pit lane for Racing Bulls and Nico Hulkenberg absent after his Audi suffered a blazing engine failure on a pre-grid lap.
Norris made a clean start from pole, but Antonelli once again made a poor start and was passed by Piastri, with Leclerc squeezing into third ahead of the Italian teenager, Russell, and Hamilton, who fought past Verstappen for sixth. The champion looked dominant in the early laps and eased 1.9 seconds clear of McLaren team-mate Piastri by lap five, with Leclerc a further 1.6 adrift for Ferrari.
In a classic skirmish, Verstappen then lunged at Hamilton on Turn 11 and went off track as he took sixth place before being ordered to give the place back. He responded with a more routine pass at Turn 17 as Hamilton, like Leclerc, began to lose grip due to overheating tyres. For Ferrari, it was proving to be a disappointing race despite their extensive upgrades, as the high temperatures took a toll, while McLaren appeared to have gained decisively with their new package. Mercedes, expecting to take their upgrades package to Canada at the end of May, were unable to match Norris and Piastri’s pace or match Leclerc, and the race settled into a high-speed procession with few real incidents. One did break the sequence on the penultimate lap when Hadjar surged past Colapinto to take ninth and then defended stoutly, but he needed another pass to score a point.
© 2024 AFP
