Lando Norris seized victory in a rain-soaked, crash-filled Miami Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday, securing a McLaren one-two that trimmed teammate Oscar Piastri’s Formula One lead to just nine points.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who won the season’s first sprint in China, also had reason to smile, finishing third as the safety car controlled the final laps before pulling off at the end.
“My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the moment, really happy,” Norris said with a grin, having claimed last year’s main Grand Prix for his first F1 win.
The British driver benefited from perfect timing, pitting for slick tires just as the safety car came out. With Piastri already having stopped, Norris rejoined the track still in the lead he had inherited.
“I probably would’ve preferred if this had happened tomorrow, rather than today, but I’ll take it. Good job by the team,” he said.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release that led to a pit lane collision with Mercedes’ pole sitter Kimi Antonelli as the Italian was entering the pits and the champion was pulling out.
That dropped four-time champion Verstappen to last among those who took the checkered flag.
Antonelli finished 10th, with the 18-year-old left with nothing more than the record for the youngest-ever F1 pole sitter in any format after only 14 laps of actual racing from an original 19.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed on his way from the pits to the starting grid, with heavy spray making conditions treacherous, and did not start.
The safety car led the field around before the start procedure was suspended, with drivers struggling to see, and all 19 cars returned to the pit lane before an eventual standing start on a drying track.
Carlos Sainz crashed his Williams, and Fernando Alonso was pitched into the wall after contact with Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls, triggering the decisive safety car to the finish.
“I did pretty much everything right. A bit disappointed to come away with second, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Racing is a pretty cruel business,” said Piastri, who will be chasing a third Grand Prix win in a row on Sunday.
“Hopefully that means I get a bit of luck this afternoon in qualifying and tomorrow.”
Hamilton was one of the first to change from inters to slicks, reaping the benefit as he carved back through the field.
“It’s been a tough year so far, but…I never thought it was going to rain in Miami. It’s the first time we’ve been on track in the wet here, and what a race it provided us,” said the seven-time world champion.
Alex Albon finished fourth but is under investigation for a safety car infringement, with Mercedes’ George Russell fifth and Lance Stroll sixth for Aston Martin.
Lawson was seventh, and Haas rookie Ollie Bearman took the final point.