Lando Norris secured victory in a dramatic, wet-to-dry Miami Grand Prix sprint race, edging out McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, thanks largely to a well-timed safety car intervention.

Piastri seized the lead on the opening lap, overtaking pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes at the first corner. However, it was the deployment of the safety car that ultimately denied the Australian his first sprint win.

As the circuit began to dry, Piastri pitted for slick tyres on lap 13, just one lap before Norris. During Norris’ stop, the safety car was deployed following a collision between Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls car at Turn Two. The incident slowed the pace of the field, giving Norris just enough time to emerge from the pit lane in the lead.

While Norris benefitted, the crash and subsequent safety car significantly hampered others. Max Verstappen, who had been running ahead of Lewis Hamilton, was penalised 10 seconds for an unsafe release during his pit stop—leading to contact with Antonelli. The penalty demoted the Dutchman from fourth to 17th and last place in the final classification.

The timing of the incident proved disastrous for Antonelli, as he was forced to complete another lap before pitting, eventually finishing a disappointing 10th and outside the points.

The sprint had already begun in tricky conditions after a 28-minute delay due to heavy rain. Piastri made a strong start, immediately challenging Antonelli into Turn One. Though Antonelli claimed he was forced off the track, replays showed he ran wide under his own momentum as Piastri cleanly took the lead.

Piastri then built a four-second gap over the chasing pack, with Norris, Verstappen, and Antonelli in pursuit. As the track conditions improved, Norris began closing in, with the McLaren duo running nose-to-tail before the pivotal round of pit stops.

The Alonso–Lawson collision, which will be investigated by the stewards, helped Norris rejoin the race with a two-second advantage. The sprint finished under safety car conditions, sealing Norris’ win—mirroring his maiden Grand Prix triumph at the same venue last year, which also came courtesy of a well-timed safety car.

“My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the minute,” Norris said. “But the pace was already decent. You never know the right time to pit—go early, go late, wait for a safety car. It's worked two years in a row. I’d prefer it to happen tomorrow in the Grand Prix, but I’m happy.”

A disappointed Piastri reflected: “I feel like I did pretty much everything right, so a bit gutted to finish second. That’s racing—it’s a tough business. I had to get my elbows out at Turn One, and I’m happy with how I handled it.”

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, delivered a strong drive to claim third. Struggling for grip in the early stages on wet tyres, the Briton made a decisive call to switch to slicks on lap 11—vaulting him from sixth to the podium. He even passed the wounded Red Bull of Verstappen on track.

“I’m so happy with that,” said Hamilton. “It’s been a tough year so far. I never thought we’d get rain in Miami—first time we’ve all been out in the wet here and it gave us one hell of a race. I made that call to pit because I was going nowhere.”

Further down the order, the safety car and Verstappen’s penalty reshuffled the standings, allowing Williams’ Alex Albon to climb to fourth, ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes, Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, Lawson, and Haas’ Oliver Bearman—who delivered a standout performance from 19th on the grid to take the final point in eighth.

The drama started even before the lights went out, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed into the wall on the way to the grid in wet conditions, damaging his car and forcing a withdrawal before the race began.