Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Key posts
Oscar Piastri’s championship lead grew at Miami on Sunday with a flawless drive to claim his sixth grand prix win, while title rival and teammate Lando Norris had to settle for second place with Mercedes’ George Russell in third.
With his trademark calm and cool demeanour, the Melburnian outmaneuvered Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to snatch the lead early in the race and set a dominant pace the rest of the grid couldn’t touch.
Miami Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri Credit: Getty Images
“Got to keep learning, but very happy to be leaving Miami on top,” Piastri said in a post-race interview.
Against the backdrop of uncharacteristically gloomy Miami skies and looming rain, the grand prix opened with lap 1 chaos. Pole-sitter Max Verstappen and Lando Norris went wheel-to-wheel in turn 2, but Norris was squeezed off track and fell into sixth place.
Piastri moved from fourth on the grid into and second and stuck to Verstappen like glue, piling on the pressure and waiting for the typically flawless four-time world champion to make a mistake.
Despite the Red Bull’s champion’s fierce racecraft and defensive driving, Piastri went around the outside on the first corner on lap 14. Verstappen defended but went deep and slid off track, allowing the Australian to soar past and claim the trophy, topping off his post-race celebrations with an inevitably viral griddy dance.
Norris was quizzed by journalists about the early incident with Verstappen and shrugged off suggestions the gap was too narrow.
“What can I say, if I don’t go for it then people complain, if I do go for it, people complain,” Norris said. “It’s the way it is with Max. It’s crash or don’t pass. Unless you get it really right and put him in the perfect position then you can just about get there.
“I paid the price for not doing a good enough job today, but [I’m] still happy to be second.”
Meanwhile, Williams driver Alex Albon secured a brilliant firth place while teammate Carls Sainz also finished in the points.
Ferrrai driver Lewis Hamilton – who finished P8 – was uncharacteristically chatty over his team radio, expressing his frustrations after the team delayed the decision to swap positions with teammate Charles Leclerc.
His sarcastic one-liners included telling his engineer to have a tea break and pondering if he should let Williams driver Carlos Sainz through.
It was a woeful day for fellow Aussie Jack Doohan who crashed out in the opening lap after making contact with Liam Lawson. With Alpine reserve drive Franco Colapinto ready in waiting, the rumours around the Australian’s seat security grow louder.
F1 commentator Martin Brundle may have said it best. McLaren are in another postcode. The car’s pace is undeniable, but there is now a healthy 16-point gap between Piastri and Norris.
The F1 community can no doubt expect many McLaren one-two finishes for the rest of the season. A title showdown between the two teammates looks inevitable.
Nicole Piastri is off to Pilates as a winner. Or as she puts it… more like a winner’s mum.
Oscar Piastri’s mum celebrated his win on social media joking “More of those please Osc. Even got my wordle done while I was waiting for the end.”
Oscar Piastri’s championship lead grew at Miami on Sunday with a flawless drive to claim his sixth grand prix win, while title rival and teammate Lando Norris had to settle for second place with Mercedes’ George Russell in third.
With his trademark calm and cool demeanour, the Melburnian outmaneuvered Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to snatch the lead early in the race and set a dominant pace the rest of the grid couldn’t touch.
Miami Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri Credit: Getty Images
“Got to keep learning, but very happy to be leaving Miami on top,” Piastri said in a post-race interview.
Against the backdrop of uncharacteristically gloomy Miami skies and looming rain, the grand prix opened with lap 1 chaos. Pole-sitter Max Verstappen and Lando Norris went wheel-to-wheel in turn 2, but Norris was squeezed off track and fell into sixth place.
Piastri moved from fourth on the grid into and second and stuck to Verstappen like glue, piling on the pressure and waiting for the typically flawless four-time world champion to make a mistake.
Despite the Red Bull’s champion’s fierce racecraft and defensive driving, Piastri went around the outside on the first corner on lap 14. Verstappen defended but went deep and slid off track, allowing the Australian to soar past and claim the trophy, topping off his post-race celebrations with an inevitably viral griddy dance.
Norris was quizzed by journalists about the early incident with Verstappen and shrugged off suggestions the gap was too narrow.
“What can I say, if I don’t go for it then people complain, if I do go for it, people complain,” Norris said. “It’s the way it is with Max. It’s crash or don’t pass. Unless you get it really right and put him in the perfect position then you can just about get there.
“I paid the price for not doing a good enough job today, but [I’m] still happy to be second.”
Meanwhile, Williams driver Alex Albon secured a brilliant firth place while teammate Carls Sainz also finished in the points.
Ferrrai driver Lewis Hamilton – who finished P8 – was uncharacteristically chatty over his team radio, expressing his frustrations after the team delayed the decision to swap positions with teammate Charles Leclerc.
His sarcastic one-liners included telling his engineer to have a tea break and pondering if he should let Williams driver Carlos Sainz through.
It was a woeful day for fellow Aussie Jack Doohan who crashed out in the opening lap after making contact with Liam Lawson. With Alpine reserve drive Franco Colapinto ready in waiting, the rumours around the Australian’s seat security grow louder.
F1 commentator Martin Brundle may have said it best. McLaren are in another postcode. The car’s pace is undeniable, but there is now a healthy 16-point gap between Piastri and Norris.
The F1 community can no doubt expect many McLaren one-two finishes for the rest of the season. A title showdown between the two teammates looks inevitable.
Let’s hit pause on Piastri celebrations and head back to some Ferrari radio shenanigans.
Lewis Hamilton was unusually vocal on the team radio during the Miami GP, expressing his frustration with the team’s strategy in swapping positions.
His sarcastic one-liners included telling his engineer to have a tea break and pondering if he should let Williams driver Carlos Sainz through.
In a post-race interview Hamilton – who finished in P8 – said he really enjoyed the race.
“Let’s make a concise decision,” he said when asked about his radio comments.
“People say way worse things than I say,” he added with a smile.
If you could only describe Oscar Piastri with one word, patient would be a top contender.
The McLaren driver stuck to Max Verstappen like glue at the start of the race, piling on the pressure and waiting for the four-time world champion to make a mistake.
Despite the Red Bull’s champion’s fierce racecraft and defensive driving, Piastri went around the outside on the first corner of the 14th lap. Verstappen defended but went deep and slid off track, allowing the Australian to soar past.
Brilliant stuff.
Drivers all have unique ways of celebrating a podium finish. Some play it cool and go for a simple fist pump in the air while others opt for crowd-surfing in their team’s ecstatic arms.
Piastri did the griddy.
A shout-out to NFL player Justin Jefferson who taught Piastri the move a few days earlier and asked him to perform the dance if he won the race.
Piastri, of course, obliged.
The typically chill Piastri stood atop of the podium and the Miami sunshine has finally decided to make an appearance.
Oscar Piastri wins Miami Credit: Getty Images
But the Australian said in a post-race interview he still has plenty to learn.
“I won the race that I really wanted to — yesterday was tricky,” he said. “Qualifying was one of my trickiest sessions of the year, so to come away with the win is an amazing result.
“The hard stint I was struggling a little bit, so there are some things to work on,” he added.
“Got to keep learning, but very happy to be leaving Miami on top.”
What a race!
Here’s an update of the driver standings after Miami
F1 commentator Martin Brundle may have said it best. McLaren are in another postcode.
Both Norris and Piastri were flying around the circuit today and not even the valiant efforts of Max Verstappen could stop them.
In a post-race interview, Lando Norris commended his teammate for his drive and also offered commentary on the earlier incident with Verstappen.
In case you missed it, Norris felt as if he had been pushed off by Verstappen during an incident at turn two.
“What can I say, if I don’t go for it then people complain, if I do go for it, people complain,” Norris said. “It’s the way it is with Max. It’s crash or don’t pass. Unless you get it really right and put him in the perfect position then you can just about get there.
“I paid the price for not doing a good enough job today, but [I’m] still happy to be second.”
What a race and what a drive from Oscar Piastri!
The young Australian has claimed his fourth win of the season and his third consecutive trophy.
It’s a McLaren one-two finish, with Lando Norris falling behind his teammate today and in the championship standings.
Could we see an Australian win the world championship at the end of the year (or sooner?) To see what Russell Bennett had to say a couple of weeks ago about that possibility click here.
