“Miami the City That Keeps the Roof Blazin”: Piastri Claims Victory Among Chaos

Miami lived up to its fiery reputation once again–“the city that keeps the roof blazin’-- as Oscar Piastri takes his fourth season win, Ferrari attempts to mediate heated radio messages with their two top drivers, four driver retirements, and many exciting overtaking actions.

Max Verstappen, the man on pole, created a tough fight for Norris, who started second and dropped to sixth, while Doohan and Lawson had a wheel-to-wheel encounter, leaving Doohan with a puncture, and Lawson with floor damage, which caused retirements for both. 

With Norris’s unlucky beginning, he was determined to get back to the top, and overtook Albon, Russell, and Antonelli, while his teammate Piastri, overtook Antonelli after a tough battle, who later took the fight up to Verstappen for the race lead. Verstappen held up a brilliant defense against Piastri, however, McLaren's speed gave Piastri the advantage and the race lead. 

Back in the midfield, drama struck: Albon overtook Sainz, while Hamilton and Ocon engaged in a tight wheel-to-wheel duel. Oliver Bearman and Gabriel Bortolleto suffered engine failures, adding to the list of retirements, and bringing out more virtual safety cars. 

By lap 30, the top three were set, Piastri, Norris, and Russell. The Williams duo provided some action-filled overtakes, with Albon passing Antonelli, and Sainz passing Leclerc. Tsunoda picked up a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

The final third of the race saw Ferrari in a civil war. First, Sainz faced both Ferrari teammates, getting overtaken by both, but it was what happened on the radio that stole headlines. “You want me to sit here for the whole race?” Hamilton was frustrated at being stuck behind Leclerc. The pit wall tried to control the situation, but the tension only grew. Hamilton didn’t hold back: “This is not good teamwork, that’s all I’m going to say.” The team eventually instructed Leclerc to swap positions with Hamilton, but neither driver was happy. Leclerc fired back with “I’m stuck now,” while Hamilton reminded the team that in China he swapped positions when asked by the team. 

Ferrari spent the remainder of the race trying to mediate between its two frustrated stars, eventually swapping the positions back to Leclerc being the lead Ferrari. And as Hamilton’s race engineer reminded him that Sainz was not too far behind, Hamilton reacted with a “You want me to let him pass as well?” Leaving Ferrari with a tense race debrief. 

Norris started to dig into Piastri time gap. But it was too late, Piastri was too far gone, with fewer laps left. The Australian had built a strong lead and cruised to the win, extending his lead in the championship standings. With three consecutive victories, Piastri now looks like the man to beat in 2025.