Lando Norris, McLaren (P2) 7/10
Norris was fortunate to win the sprint race, as he pitted just as the Safety Car came out for slick tyres and came out ahead of teammate Piastri as a result. The Briton’s Miami Grand Prix was once again pockmarked by mistakes, the first being a clattering of the kerbs at Turn 17 which may have cost him pole position for the Grand Prix. He followed this up by losing four positions on the opening lap after tussling with Verstappen a bit too hard. He clearly had very good pace in his MCL39 though, as he made light work of Albon, Russell and Antonelli in the opening nine laps to climb back into the podium positions. Getting past Verstappen was a different story, and it took him a lot longer to overtake the Red Bull compared to his McLaren teammate, who by the time the move was complete had disappeared far into the distance. Norris was definitely faster than Piastri in clear air in the second half of the race, but the gap was simply too big for the former to mount a challenge for the lead.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren (P1) 9/10
The Miami Grand Prix displayed a key difference between Piastri and Norris, one that could decide the course of the Drivers’ Championship. While the McLaren pair showed similar pace on a single flying lap and in clean air, Piastri certainly had the better racecraft compared to his more experienced teammate. This was all to clear when both had to find their way past a slower Verstappen; while Norris struggled to outwit the defending Champion, Piastri calmly forced Verstappen into a mistake at Turn 1 on lap 14 and got past. This allowed the Australian to create a massive gap out front where he remained for the rest of the Grand Prix. After all, you have to be able to fight and overtake the cars around you to win races, and it seems as though Piastri is better at this than Norris, at least in the opening six Grands Prix of 2025.
