Lando Norris led the McLaren effort in the Miami Grand Prix sprint race 1-2 finish today. Despite falling short to Kimi Antonelli in sprint qualifying, the McLarens found the pace to pull ahead and stay ahead for the length of the race. Antonelli also had a brief incident into turn 3 due to wet track conditions which compromised his race start. Antonelli was also on the receiving end of damage due to an unsafe release by Max Verstappen. Verstappen received a 10 second penatly for the incident which essentially ended his contention for points.
As the race progressed, conditions improved, prompting the drivers to commit to a switch to slick tires while the advantage was still present. Yuki Tsunoda was the first to make the choice and the field followed as track conditions improved. The timing fell into the laps of Lando Narris and Oscar Piastri who were able to secure their positions at the end of the race under the safety car.
“My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the minute so I’m happy,” said Norris. “The pace was still very good. It’s always just difficult, these races, you never know when to box. You box early – it paid off for Lewis and he had a good strategy – or do you stay out later and maybe get the Safety Car? It’s worked two years in a row. I would probably prefer if this happened tomorrow rather than today but I’ll take it. I’m happy. A good job by the team so it was good fun.