Oscar Piastri wins 4th race of season, taking Miami Grand Prix

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. McLaren Racing's Oscar Piastri claimed his series-best and career-high fourth victory of the season in Sunday's Formula One CRYPTO.com Miami Grand Prix, the Australian surging forward from a fourth-place start to the lead by lap 15 and holding off his teammate, 2024 Miami race winner Lando Norris by 4.630 seconds.

Overcast skies and a perennial threat of rain in a normally sunny month of May in South Florida never dampened the competition or the mood from the fans. Piastri made his race-winning move around pole-winner and two-time Miami winner Max Verstappen on Lap 15 of the 57-lap race at the Miami International Autodrome. After exchanging positions three times in three laps, Norris finally got around Verstappen too and raced off to chase his teammate, ultimately claiming second.

Mercedes AMG driver George Russell finished third to complete the Miami podium, passing Verstappen during a pit stop exchange on Lap 27 and holding off the four-time and reigning F1 champion in the remaining laps.

"At the end of the race when you have to keep Max behind you, it's never easy," Russell conceded.

Piastri's victory the sixth of his career marks the first time in 28 years that a McLaren Racing driver has won three consecutive races two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen last doing so for the team back in 1997-98. Most importantly, Piastri extended his championship lead to 16 points over Norris heading into the next race, -18 at the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna in Italy.

"To come away with a win Sunday is an impressive result," Piastri said, noting his runner-up in Saturday's sprint race. "Once I knew we had a good pace and advantage, the car's pace was incredible today."

McLaren becomes the first team to finish 1-2 in a sprint and grand prix doubleheader weekend and team principal American Zak Brown celebrated the work of his two 24-year-old drivers with a selfie on pit road after they climbed out of their cars.

The race was spirited from green to checkered flag at times including fierce racing among teammates. Ferrari drivers Charles LeClerc and Lewis Hamilton exchanged positions throughout the closing laps, ultimately finishing seventh and eighth. The Williams Racing team with drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz scored 17 points Sunday after the team earned only a total of 14 points in the entire 2024 season. Albon finished a season-best fifth and Sainz was ninth.

Holly Cain, Field Level Media

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