22.00:XNUMX Italian time: the lights go out in Miami. It has been raining for hours, the track has just been dried after an uncertain day. F1 Academy has said stop, but Formula 1 hasn't: the drivers' parade continued with umbrellas and LEGO cars, and so off we go. The strategies imagined by Pirelli? A long stop and a shorter one, provided that a safety car arrives to make everything more predictable. Qualifying showed a clear trio: Verstappen (3.39), Norris (3.33), Antonelli (3.40) and the weather doesn't matter to anyone, since the Miami GP starts without problems, especially Piastri.
Departure: Max closes, Piastri takes advantage
Verstappen gets off to a good start and immediately closes the door on Norris. Antonelli gets past the Englishman and takes second place. Max and Norris, again, pinch each other, leaving the FIA to argue about what measures to take (it will be judged as a racing incident). First yellow flag, almost immediately: Doohan has a puncture due to contact with Lawson's Racing Bulls. Norris, who finished in sixth, tries to climb back up, while Piastri, after the first three laps, takes second. After the race in Saudi Arabia, Verstappen now hopes that Norris will receive a penalty and makes sure that the FIA thinks exactly that. Verstappen, as always, starts aggressively, there was no doubt about it. Kimi Antonelli resists but is under pressure, but who would have expected a rookie to hold out so hard?
After the safety car, there is already talk of rain coming in about 15 minutes. The duel between Piastri and Verstappen has attracted attention. On lap seven, Norris recovers third place on Russell, who loses pace, at turn 3, while Williams with Sainz proves competitive. Antonelli receives orders to manage the tires while waiting for the rain and everyone starts thinking about the next pit.
Machine vs. Man
On lap 14, the two McLarens get closer and while Antonelli drops to fourth, pushing Norris to third, Piastri uses DRS to attack Verstappen. However, Max defends himself hard, holding the lead even with a slower car, more than once, perhaps too many times. On lap XNUMX, after a long lock-up by Max, Piastri takes the lead of the Miami GP. Max complains about the brakes – "Useless", he defines them – and Norris in the meantime attacks him, overtaking him for the first time by going beyond the limits of the track and after having given back the position, he takes it back later.
In the back, Albon has a water pressure problem, Leclerc reports Sainz cutting the chicane, being behind him in eighth position and Bortoleto tries to pit on slicks. Those on hards can hold out, but those on mediums, like Russell, must change. Hamilton tries to at least get into the points zone, attacking Ocon for tenth place. But he won't be able to do so for a while yet.
On lap 26 the pit stops begin: Hadjar fits the hards, then it's the turn of Antonelli, Sainz, Albon and Verstappen. Bearman suddenly stops on the track after being overtaken by Gasly: it's the PU's fault. It's the Virtual Safety Car when Lando and Lewis take advantage to stop, then Piastri and Leclerc. In the meantime Russell loses precious seconds. At the restart, the order is: Piastri, Norris, Russell, Verstappen, Albon, Antonelli, Leclerc, Sainz. Carlos easily overtakes Leclerc, demonstrating that Ferrari is far from expectations.
Bortoleto out, in a second Virtual Safety Car
Another Virtual Safety Car, this time due to Bortoleto's exit. At the end of the neutralization regime, the brawl between the two Ferraris starts. Sainz and Leclerc fight for seventh position: the 55 doesn't give up, but neither does the 16. At the same time, Hamilton moves in and places himself between them both. The two Ferraris find themselves seventh and eighth. The Englishman, however, doesn't give up, he feels faster and communicates it to the box. On the other side of the wall, Vigna looks worriedly at a project that appears increasingly compromised. No team orders between the two Ferrari drivers, despite Leclerc's pace appearing to improve. After a 5-second penalty by Tsunoda, it emerges that Gasly and Sainz did not respect the yellow flag regime and are under investigation.
Up front, Norris is dangerously close to Piastri, while Leclerc continues to close the gap to Hamilton. Charles complains of discomfort in his leg separator, but despite this, he is lapping at times close to those of Antonelli, in sixth position. It is an unusual start to the season for the Reds. The Ferraris find themselves behind an eighteen-year-old rookie, Kimi Antonelli, behind the Haas and the result is that they begin to bicker on the radio about who should give up the position. After some tense exchanges, the decision comes from the pit wall: Hamilton must let Leclerc pass. The overtaking takes place, but the atmosphere is tense.
Charles, visibly nervous, realizes that he can't do much more with this car. Hamilton, shortly after, also gets nervous: Sainz is coming fast from behind. His question on the radio is clear:
“Do you want me to let him pass too?”
At Ferrari it's iron and fire. Orders, bad moods and little competitiveness: the weekend of this Miami GP confirms that there is still a lot to fix, but the McLarens and especially Piastri, continue to dominate. The last laps are predictable, at the wall they try to keep Max under 5 seconds, but Piastri remained there with a 33 second advantage and wins this race after having led it the entire time. Second Norris, third Russell.
