One team was vastly quicker than the competition during the Miami Grand Prix, but did their drivers make the most of their equipment over the whole weekend? Here’s our verdict on the full field.
Lando Norris
Sprint race start: 3rd
Sprint race finish: 1st
Qualified: 2nd (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.106s)
Grid: 2nd (2 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -4 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 2nd (1 place behind team mate)
▶ Scruffy practice session included pitting due to tools in his cockpit, being impeded by Ocon and having to abort his soft tyre run due to a red flag
▶ Piastri narrowly beat him to second on the grid
▲ Clearly quicker than Piastri at end of first stint
▶ Inherited sprint race win when Safety Car was deployed during pit stop
▼ Had pace to beat Verstappen to pole for grand prix but took second
▶ Attacked Verstappen at turn two but was forced off and fell to sixth
▶ Quickly recovered to third but took several laps to pass Verstappen for second
▶ Closed on Piastri over remainder of race but never got close enough to attack
7/10: Slightly off in qualifying, excellent race pace, patient with Verstappen
Oscar Piastri
Sprint race start: 2nd
Sprint race finish: 2nd
Qualified: 4th (2 places behind team mate, +0.106s)
Grid: 4th (2 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 1st (1 place ahead of team mate)
▲ Another solid start in the sprint race got him ahead of Antonelli
▶ Looked set to hold Norris off to win before Safety Car was deployed after he pitted
▼ Great pace in Q2 but couldn’t replicate it in Q3
▶ Gained a place from Norris at the start and quickly dispensed with Antonelli
▲ Pressured Verstappen into a vital error to take the lead
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.106s faster
8/10: A strong weekend, aside from Q3
>> Find out more and sign upGo ad-free for just £1 per month
Charles Leclerc
Sprint race start: 6th
Sprint race finish: Not classified
Qualified: 8th (4 places ahead of team mate, -0.058s)
Grid: 8th (4 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 7th (1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Appeared to wring everything out of the Ferrari in sprint race qualifying for sixth
▼ Crashed in heavy rain on his reconnaissance lap before the sprint race
▶ Only Ferrari representative in Q3 but out-qualified by both Williams drivers
▲ Passed Sainz after a VSC restart
▶ Played the team game with Hamilton but it didn’t help either driver
6/10: Pre-sprint race blunder was understandable, car lacked pace
Lewis Hamilton
Sprint race start: 7th
Sprint race finish: 3rd
Qualified: 12th (4 places behind team mate, +0.058s)
Grid: 12th (4 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 8th (1 place behind team mate)
▶ Closer to Leclerc than usual in sprint race qualifying
▼ Lacked pace in damp conditions in sprint race but well-timed switch to slicks secured third place
▲ Well-timed switch to slicks secured third place
▼ Narrowly failed to make cut for Q3
▶ Passed Hadjar and, eventually, Ocon
▶ Frustrated by the team’s delay in letting him past Leclerc
▼ Couldn’t catch Antonelli and had to let Leclerc by again
▶ Squeezed Sainz hard on the last lap to hold on to eighth
6/10: Closer to Leclerc’s pace than usual, justifiably frustrated by team’s slow decision-making
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Max Verstappen
Sprint race start: 4th
Sprint race finish: 17th
Qualified: 1st (9 places ahead of team mate, -0.739s)
Grid: 1st (9 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 4th (6 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Running early in SQ3 didn’t pay off, leaving him fourth on the sprint race grid
▶ Went off during formation laps but was able to start fourth
▶ Ran third but race was ruined when his team released him from pit box into side of Antonelli
▲ Pulled his best sector times together for excellent pole position in grand prix
▼ Slight error at turn one at the start but held his lead
▼ Another mistake at turn one later cost him the lead to Piastri
▶ Eventually let Norris past and Russell jumped him thanks to a VSC period
7/10: Excellent pole lap for the grand prix but rode his luck at times and should have come away with third
Yuki Tsunoda
Sprint race start: 20th
Sprint race finish: 6th
Qualified: 10th (9 places behind team mate, +0.739s)
Grid: 10th (9 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 10th (6 places behind team mate)
▼ Error at turn 17 left him vulnerable to elimination in SQ1
▼ Failed to begin his final lap early enough to make the cut for SQ2 after being told repeatedly to hurry up
▲ Early switch to slicks paid off and penalties promoted him to sixth
▶ Confused by team’s instruction for him to drop back at end of sprint race
▼ Collected a penalty for speeding in the pit lane
▶ Narrowly pipped Hadjar to final point after five-second time penalty
5/10: Made up for poor sprint race qualifying but collected needless penalty in grand prix
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Sprint race start: 1st
Sprint race finish: 7th
Qualified: 3rd (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.114s)
Grid: 3rd (2 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 6th (3 places behind team mate)
▲ Took sprint race pole with terrific lap on softs which he hadn’t been able to run in final practice
▼ Ran wide as Piastri passed him at start and fell to fourth
▼ Dropped back when track was damp, then hit by Verstappen in pits
▲ Another fine qualifying performance put him third
▶ Slow pit stop cost him chance to attack Verstappen with ‘undercut’
▼ Lost place to Albon at restart and couldn’t get ahead again
7/10: Showed great speed in qualifying but race pace wasn’t there – nor was much luck
George Russell
Sprint race start: 5th
Sprint race finish: 4th
Qualified: 5th (2 places behind team mate, +0.114s)
Grid: 5th (2 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 3rd (3 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Beaten by Antonelli for the first time in qualifying after running early in SQ3
▲ Had better pace than Antonelli in sprint race
▶ Did better in qualifying for the grand prix but beaten by Antonelli again
▲ Good pace on hard tyres and got quicker when Antonelli and Verstappen ahead pitted
▶ Capitalised on Virtual Safety Car to jump both of them and held position despite cramp at end of race
7/10: Never seemed to click with the track but came away with excellent results
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Lance Stroll
Sprint race start: 16th
Sprint race finish: 5th
Qualified: 19th (2 places behind team mate, +0.226s)
Grid: 18th (1 place behind team mate)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 16th (1 place behind team mate)
▶ Blamed Verstappen for impeding him on his final lap in SQ1 and failed to make the cut by a tenth of a second
▲ The big midfield winner among those who switched to slicks early, bagging fifth after penalties
▶ Pitted too early in race to benefit from VSCs and finished last
7/10: Consistently out-qualified by team mate but pulled off a coup in the sprint race
Fernando Alonso
Sprint race start: 10th
Sprint race finish: Not classified
Qualified: 17th (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.226s)
Grid: 17th (1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 15th (1 place ahead of team mate)
▲ Grabbed his opportunity to reach SQ3
▼ Couldn’t improve his time after switching to soft tyres
▶ Aston Martin seemed reluctant to risk switching to slicks and a late change left him vulnerable and he was knocked into a barrier by Lawson
▼ Spun at turn 11 during the race after starting on hards
▶ Took advantage of VSC to jump back in front of Stroll
5/10: Paid a big price for Aston Martin’s hesitation to pit him in the sprint race, VSC pit stop flattered early error in grand prix
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Jack Doohan
Sprint race start: 17th
Sprint race finish: 16th
Qualified: 14th (4 places ahead of team mate, -0.288s)
Grid: 14th (6 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: Not classified
▼ Fumed at his team after getting stuck by the pit exit wall which led to his SQ1 elimination
▶ Made little headway in sprint race, starting where he finished
▲ Beat Gasly in grand prix qualifying for the first time
▼ Dived down the inside of Lawson at the start, made contact and suffered damage which put him out
4/10: Too hard on team for sprint qualifying mess-up, decent in grand prix qualifying but threw it all away at the start
Pierre Gasly
Sprint race start: 13th
Sprint race finish: 8th
Qualified: 18th (4 places behind team mate, +0.288s)
Grid: 20th (6 places behind team mate)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 13th
▼ Clipped a wall in SQ2 and failed to progress further
▶ Not among the earliest to switch to slicks, but stayed out of trouble and 11th at the flag became the final points place
▶ Admitted his runs in Q1 weren’t fast enough after being eliminated
▶ Ran a long opening stint on hards and rode his luck waiting until the final VSC to pit but never looked in the hunt for points
5/10: Struggled to make headway with an uncompetitive car
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Esteban Ocon
Sprint race start: 12th
Sprint race finish: 12th
Qualified: 9th (11 places ahead of team mate, -0.549s)
Grid: 9th (10 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 12th
▼ Received a warning for impeding in first practice
▲ Beat his team mate to reach SQ2
▼ Slight error at turn 17 may have cost him a place in SQ3
▶ Left it late to change to slicks in the sprint race and finished out of the points
▲ Did a superb job in qualifying to claim ninth on the grid with Bearman last
▶ Hamilton inevitably passed him in the race but pitting early meant others got ahead through the VSC, ending his hope of points
8/10: Great in qualifying, scrapped well with Hamilton in the race, unlucky with VSC. Deserved a point
Oliver Bearman
Sprint race start: 19th
Sprint race finish: 14th
Qualified: 20th (11 places behind team mate, +0.549s)
Grid: 19th (10 places behind team mate)
Start: +3 places
Finished: Not classified
▼ Crashed in practice
▼ Very unhappy at failing to reach the line in time in SQ1 and dropping out
▲ Gained ground at the start and got onto slicks early enough to finish in the points, before a penalty for an unsafe release dropped him to 14th
▼ Called his grand prix qualifying effort messy after finishing last again
▶ Suddenly lost drive in the race and retired
6/10: Excellent sprint race drive deserved a reward but made life too hard for himself in qualifying
Isack Hadjar
Sprint race start: 9th
Sprint race finish: 10th
Qualified: 11th (4 places ahead of team mate, -0.376s)
Grid: 11th (4 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 11th
▲ Squeezed into SQ3 to claim ninth on the sprint race grid
▼ Lost places at the start and pitted late for slicks, leaving him out of the points
▲ Pulled all his best sector times together at the end of Q2 but couldn’t quite make it into Q3
▶ Ceded a place to Hamilton early on
▶ Came close to denying the penalised Tsunoda the final point – was a bit harsh on himself about last-lap mistakes
8/10: A generally strong weekend and frustratingly close to scoring in the grand prix
Liam Lawson
Sprint race start: 14th
Sprint race finish: 13th
Qualified: 15th (4 places behind team mate, +0.376s)
Grid: 15th (4 places behind team mate)
Start: -4 places
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: Not classified
▼ Admitted his sprint qualifying session had been messy after failing to join Hadjar in SQ3
▲ Made a great start and pitted for slick tyres earlier than some key rivals to move into points places
▼ Believed he was entitled to be left space by Alonso at turn 11 but stewards disagreed and gave him a penalty which cost him his first points finish
▶ Eliminated in Q2 as he encountered a problem with his battery. Reverted to an old power unit for the race
▶ Knocked into a spin by Doohan at turn one at the start of the grand prix, suffering damage which ruined his day
5/10: More unlucky than anything else
Alexander Albon
Sprint race start: 8th
Sprint race finish: 11th
Qualified: 7th (1 place behind team mate, +0.113s)
Grid: 7th (1 place behind team mate)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 5th (4 places ahead of team mate)
▲ The only Williams driver to get into SQ3, taking eighth on the grid
▶ Ran close to Hamilton but pitted later than him and dropped back
▼ Penalised for failing to respect the Safety Car delta time, having had Russell close behind him in a braking zone when it was deployed
▲ Got ahead of Norris and Sainz at the start, though the Williams pair made contact as they avoided the McLaren
▶ Was passed by both, then re-passed his team mate
▲ Attacked Antonelli after the last VSC restart to take fifth, then kept the Mercedes behind
9/10: Only marked down for his Safety Car error, otherwise this was giant-killing stuff
Carlos Sainz Jnr
Sprint race start: 15th
Sprint race finish: Not classified
Qualified: 6th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.113s)
Grid: 6th (1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 9th (4 places behind team mate)
▼ The decision to only do one lap in SQ2 backfired as he made a mistake and ended up 10th on the grid
▼ Early call to switch to slicks was spot-on, but hit the barrier at the chicane soon afterwards
▲ Excellent Q3 lap, stringing his best sector times together, put him sixth on the grid for the grand prix
▶ Had to start on used medium tyres as the team fitted his fresh set during the sprint race
▶ Said he had damage after his first lap contact with Albon and wasn’t happy at dropping behind him during the first stint
▼ Passed by both Ferraris at the restart
6/10: Grand prix qualifying showed he’s mastering the FW47 over a flying lap, errors elsewhere held him back
Nico Hulkenberg
Sprint race start: 11th
Sprint race finish: 9th
Qualified: 16th (3 places behind team mate, +0.13s)
Grid: 16th (3 places behind team mate)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 14th
▲ Nearly succeeded in valiant effort to drag his Sauber into SQ3, missing the cut by less than a tenth of a second
▼ Dropped back at the start and was under-cut by rivals who switched to the soft sooner, finishing ninth
▼ Could have reached Q2 but for a snap of oversteer on his final lap
▶ Started on hard tyres but the team waited until after the VSC periods to pit him
▶ Good pace on mediums at the end of the race but was too far back to challenge Gasly
6/10: Points chance went begging in the sprint race
Gabriel Bortoleto
Sprint race start: 18th
Sprint race finish: 15th
Qualified: 13th (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.13s)
Grid: 13th (3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Not classified
▼ Much further off Hulkenberg than usual in sprint qualifying after locking up at turn 17.
▶ Made little progress in the sprint race and finished 15th
▲ Had a much better qualifying session for the grand prix, claiming 13th on the grid
▶ Lost ground by pitting before the second VSC period, then caused the third one when he retired with a loss of power
5/10: Qualifying for the grand prix was weekend’s only highlight
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
2025 Miami Grand Prix
- 2025 Miami Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
- Doohan “just looking forward to Imola” but his future remains in doubt
- Pictures: Drivers ‘race’ two-seater Lego F1 cars before Miami Grand Prix
- Hadjar blames last-lap mistakes after failing to beat Tsunoda to final point
- Did Verstappen give up his fight against Norris too late? Miami GP data analysed
