MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — When Oscar Piastri made his debut at the Miami Grand Prix as an F1 driver, he was behind the wheel of the slowest car out there and just barely managed to avoid coming in last place.
Two years later, Piastri and McLaren Racing have completed a full circle.
Piastri extended his lead in the F1 title race by securing victory in Miami over the weekend, marking his fourth triumph out of six races this season. He has now claimed three successive wins with McLaren Racing, joining forces with teammate Lando Norris to challenge four-time reigning champion Max Verstappen from Red Bull.
McLaren secured victories in Miami for the past two years, with Norris claiming the top spot last season for his inaugural Formula 1 win.
It’s simply astounding how much effort has been put into this,” Piastri remarked about McLaren. “Two years back, right here in Miami, we were actually the slowest team. We ended up being lapped twice then. To go from that to winning the Grand Prix with a margin of more than 35 seconds ahead of third place really highlights the extraordinary outcome of everyone’s diligent efforts.
Piastri has become the first McLaren driver to secure three back-to-back Formula 1 wins in 28 years since Mika Häkkinen achieved this feat by winning the last race of the 1997 season followed by triumphs in the initial two events of the 1998 season.
His advantage over Norris in the driver rankings expanded to 16 points, whereas Verstappen lags behind Piastri by 32 points.
Norris’ victory in Miami last year ended Verstappen’s two-year winning run at the track near Hard Rock Stadium. Additionally, Norris
claimed victory in the sprint race on Saturday
— Piastri was dominant but lost out due to a late safety car —
Verstappen secured the top spot during qualifying.
Verstappen, who announced the
the birth of his first child early Friday
has been determined to disprove the myth that fatherhood would make him a more conservative driver. It was evident as he darted away at the start and then aggressively held off Norris’ challenge for the lead.
Red Bull and McLaren were neck and neck with Norris attempting to move ahead of the driver from the Netherlands. However, he veered off course and dropped four positions as a result. Norris claimed that Verstappen pushed him off the racing line, leaving him with little choice except to prevent colliding with the barrier; nonetheless, Formula 1 did not penalize Verstappen for his actions.
What can I say? Whether I choose not to participate or decide to join in, people still find something to criticize,” Norris stated. “There’s no winning this game. It truly comes down to either crashing or letting him pass when it involves Max.
Verstappen remained unwavering even after dropping back to fourth place and maintained that his actions adhered to the regulations.
I figured I had nothing to lose, so I decided to enjoy myself out there,” Verstappen stated, additionally noting that McLaren’s impressive beginning to the season is “in no way frustrating.
“We came here to secure victory, but today we were far from our best performance, hence it makes little difference,” Verstappen stated.
Norris bounced back from the initial setback and made his way back towards the lead, though not before Piastri seized control from Verstappen on lap 14 out of 57. McLaren has opted to let Piastri and Norris compete fairly against each other without imposing team instructions, giving Norris the green light to contest with his Australian teammate for the win.
As the final laps approached, Norris managed to reduce the distance between himself and Piastري, though he couldn’t surpass him and ended up with second place, resulting in a 1-2 victory for McLaren. Meanwhile, they maintained almost a 40-second lead over Mercedes’ George Russell, securing his spot as the third-place finisher.
Alex Albon from Williams finished in fifth place, Kimi Antonelli driving for Mercedes came in sixth, and Charles Leclerc ended up seventh following Ferrari’s instruction for Lewis Hamilton to yield his spot to his teammate during the final stages of the race. Lewis Hamilton concluded in eighth place.
Carlos Sainz Jr. finished ninth with Williams, while Yuki Tsunoda came in tenth for Red Bull.
Doohan in doubt
During the first lap, Jack Doohan collided with another vehicle and subsequently crashed during the second lap—a performance that isn’t likely to silence speculation suggesting he might soon be replaced at Alpine by Franco Colapinto as the rookie driver.
Media outlets in Argentina have reported that Colapinto might take over from Doohan during Formula 1’s upcoming race this month in Italy. However, at the beginning of the Miami weekend, Alpine Team Principal Oliver Opalka refuted these claims, stating that as things stand now, the Australian driver is expected to retain his position for the Imola event.
I believe it was an Argentine sponsor out of frame sharing their thoughts on Franco and when he might get into the car. I’m certain many people in Argentina would want to see him racing this Sunday,” Oakes commented regarding the speculations. “Our team has remained quite transparent that such talk is merely background chatter. Jack should keep up his solid performance. However, it’s only natural for these rumors to circulate.
As things stand now, Jack is our driver alongside Pierre (Gasly),” he went on. “We have made ourselves very clear about this. While we continually assess the situation, at present, that remains the setup.
Doohan failed to complete two laps on Sunday and ended up finishing last. He hasn’t scored any points so far this season after participating in six races. His highest placement came when he finished 13th at the Chinese Grand Prix.
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Jenna Fryer, from The Associated Press
