Miami Grand Prix: The Good, Mediocre, and Ugly as Piastri claims victory

Many likely believed that the 2025 Miami GP would not reach the excitement of last year’s event, where Lando Norris took his maiden win and gave us hope that Max Verstappen had a new opponent for the world championship. Yet one year later, we have now seen a new youngest pole sitter crowned in Kimi Antonelli, near-constant overtakes and crashes from drivers old and new. Though the race exhilarated all onlookers, not all drivers will remember Miami fondly.

The Good

Oscar Piastri: A cliché choice, but rightfully earned with a consistent performance throughout the weekend. Qualifying second in the sprint allowed him to take the lead from Antonelli on the first lap, a lead he would have run away with were it not for a late safety car that meant he finished behind McLaren driver Norris. While in the main race he started behind his teammate in fourth, a combination of raw pace and a costly mistake by Norris in the first lap meant he stormed into the first place, never looked back, and maintains his championship lead.

Alexander Albon: While Albon’s performance in the Sprint was undermined by a penalty which dropped him out of the points, he had an astonishing qualifying run and exceptional race pace for the main event. He started seventh, behind his teammate Carlos Sainz, but ahead of both Ferraris. By lap 18, he had repassed Sainz, and even after the pit stops surpassed the Ferraris to secure a top five finish, while his teammate could only manage a ‘frustrating’ ninth place behind them. His impressive show now means Williams could end up being a potential threat to the top four teams by the end of the season.

The Mediocre

Kimi Antonelli: Wait one moment before raising any pitchforks. The youngest pole sitter of all time, Antonelli could easily have ended up in the ‘good’ section had things gone his way in Miami. He is maintaining the exceptionalism he has shown in earlier races, with qualifying now seemingly added to his strengths in the Sunshine State. Pole position in the sprint was the headline, but third for the main race wasn’t too shabby either. However, he was unable to fully capitalise on these starting positions, with his sixth place finish in both races being behind his teammate George Russell, who even scraped a podium position in the main race. Antonelli has certainly proven this weekend that he has the power to challenge his teammate (similar to other rookies like Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman), but will still need to improve to have any hope of ever surpassing him.

Lewis Hamilton: Miami remarkably mirrored Hamilton’s previous efforts in China. In both Sprints, he stood on the podium (first in China and third in Miami), before being out-qualified and finishing behind his teammate (although in Miami, he and Charles Leclerc were not disqualified). Miami was therefore a carbon copy of his previous races, but also represented a boiling point with Hamilton’s radio frustrations over repeated position swaps with Leclerc. This was a blunder by Ferrari’s team – Hamilton’s medium tyres were up to temperature, meaning he could have chased Antonelli for sixth. Once again, it seems as though Hamilton’s plan to challenge for the title with the prancing horse remains on hold.

The Ugly

Fernando Alonso: He came tantalisingly close to receiving his first points of the year in the Sprint before a collision with Lawson. While not his fault, his lacklustre qualifying performance of 17th also meant it was nigh-impossible for him to get a second chance in Sunday’s race, which became even more apparent after his self-inflicted spin, dropping him to 18th. His only consolation this weekend was finishing 15th, a place higher than his teammate, who was the last car to finish. If Alonso does not break his pointless streak imminently, his confidence will likely be shattered, with critics either blaming the AMR25 or even citing age as a factor in his decline this year. Regardless of what the real reasons are for Alonso’s performance drop, 2025 is statistically his worst start to a season since his first in 2001, a fact that is sure to be constantly on his mind.

Liam Lawson: The incurred penalty from his collision with Alonso cost him points, and unfortunately, things did not improve for the New Zealander from here. Not only did he qualify four places behind rookie teammate Hadjar, but he was forced to retire from the race due to his risky attempt to overtake Jack Doohan on lap one, which caused significant floor damage to his car. Much like Alonso, Lawson also retains his pointless streak, a further negative in his attempt to earn back his Red Bull Drive.