After a week-long break on the back of the season’s first triple-header, Formula One was back in action in the United States for the first time this season for the FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2025. But before the main event on Sunday, the drivers had to decide a winner in the sprint race on Saturday. Sprint qualifying saw Kimi Antonelli secure the first pole position of his career, becoming the youngest pole sitter in F1 history.
The conditions were difficult for the drivers, racing in the wet for the first time at this circuit. The conditions proved challenging for Charles Leclerc, who crashed into the barriers on his way to the starting grid, forfeiting his P6 starting position. Even Max Verstappen, who is widely regarded as an excellent rain driver, locked up during the formation lap, although he was able to recover in the runoff area.
The conditions were too poor to start the race, so the race start was abandoned and the cars returned to the pit lane. The rain had stopped, but the circuit was still blanketed with water, making for slippery conditions and spray that greatly reduced visibility.
A half hour later, the cars returned to the circuit behind the safety car. The conditions had improved significantly compared to the first formation lap, with a chance of finishing the race on slick tyres looking possible. Confirmation of a standing start from race control rewarded fans for their patience.
The race started on lap three. Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri both had an equal reaction time from the front row of the grid, but Piastri was stronger in the second phase. The McLaren pulled alongside the Mercedes on the run to the first corner, momentarily popping slightly ahead. Piastri held the inside of the first corner, and Antonelli ran wide as the two drivers touched. This dropped Antonelli down to P4, which he maintained despite pressure from his teammate in the slow second sector of the circuit. The stewards noted the first corner incident, with Antonelli complaining he was forced off, but decided that no investigation was required.
Max Verstappen was another driver to briefly catch the attention of the stewards. He was noted for starting out of position, pushing the limits of his grid slot. However, the stewards reviewed the footage and determined he hadn’t started too far forward.
As the cars raced around, the circuit began to dry rapidly. By lap 11, things had improved enough for race control to enable DRS. Yuki Tsunoda immediately responded to switch to slick tyres. He started the race last and was almost certainly a guinea pig to test the tyres.
Lewis Hamilton pitted for soft tyres on the following lap, with only six laps remaining in the 18-lap sprint. Max Verstappen pitted for medium tyres on lap 13, but was released into Kimi Antonelli and the two collided. Verstappen damaged his front wing, but the incident was far more costly for Antonelli, who had to abandon his stop and pit the following lap, dropping him down to P11. The collision earned Max Verstappen a ten-second penalty for an unsafe release, dropping him to last position.
There was drama for Carlos Sainz, who had entertained fans with a multi-lap battle with Esteban Ocon for P12. The Williams driver clipped the inside barrier in the chicane, damaging his rear tyre. He crawled back to the pit lane to retire, shedding debris around the circuit.
At the front, the gap between the two McLaren cars was closed dramatically, and Lando Norris was now right on the gearbox of Piastri. Piastri was the first to pit, leaving Norris out for an additional lap. As Norris entered the pit lane on the next lap, chaos further back swung luck in Norris’ direction.
Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson were battling for position. Lawson ran wide on the outside of turn 11, but the two collided as the left-hand turn morphed into the right-hand turn 12. This caused the Aston Martin to crash into the barriers, forcing the safety car to be deployed.
This turned the battle for the lead into a race to the pit exit line. Norris emerged in the race lead ahead of his teammate. There were too few laps and too much debris for the race to resume. The race concluded with the drivers parading around behind the safety car.
There’s still more action to come. The drivers will be racing in Miami again tomorrow for the longer main event.
UPDATE: Oliver Bearman was given a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release in the pit lane, dropping him down to P14 from his P5 finish.
UPDATE: Liam Lawson was given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Fernando Alonso. He was demoted to P13 from his P5 finish.
UPDATE: Alex Albon was given a five-second time penalty for failing to stay above the minimum delta time behind the safety car. He dropped to P11 from his P6 finish.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | 36:37.647 | 8 | ||
| 2 | 18 | +0.672 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 18 | +1.073 | 6 |  | |
| 4 | 18 | +3.127 | 5 | ||
| 5 | 18 | +3.412 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 18 | +5.153 | 3 | ||
| 7 | 18 | +5.635 | 2 | ||
| 8 | 18 | +5.973 | 1 | ||
| 9 | 18 | +6.153 | |||
| 10 | 18 | +7.502 | |||
| 11 | 18 | +7.522 | |||
| 12 | 18 | +8.998 | |||
| 13 | 18 | +9.024 | |||
| 14 | 18 | +9.218 | |||
| 15 | 18 | +9.675 | |||
| 16 | 18 | +9.909 | |||
| 17 | 18 | +12.059 | |||
| DNF | 13 | ||||
| DNF | 12 |
| 1 | O. Piastri | 106 |  | |
| 2 | L. Norris | 97 | -9 | |
| 3 | M. Verstappen | 87 | -19 | |
| 4 | G. Russell | 78 | -28 | |
| 5 | C. Leclerc | 47 | -59 | |
| 1 | McLaren | 203 | | |
| 2 | Mercedes | 118 | -85 | |
| 3 | Red Bull | 92 | -111 | |
| 4 | Ferrari | 84 | -119 | |
| 5 | Williams | 25 | -178 | |
