OSCAR PIASTRI showcased his skill by defeating Max Verstappen to win the Miami Grand Prix, marking a significant weekend for the Dutch driver.

Lando Norris secured second place as McLaren put forth a stellar performance, celebrating Verstappen’s new addition to his family and his pole position for the race on Sunday.

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Verstappen, who celebrated the arrival of his daughter Lily with partner Kelly Piquet just before the Miami Grand Prix, ended the race in fourth place, following George Russell in third.

Meanwhile, Ferrari struggled with team dynamics as Lewis Hamilton expressed his frustration to his race engineer about not swapping positions with Charles Leclerc, ultimately finishing eighth, just behind Leclerc in seventh.

The race kicked off with a thrilling start; Verstappen led into Turn One but locked his brakes, giving Lando Norris a chance to challenge him out of the corner.

Norris, however, overshot and dropped back to sixth, while Kimi Antonelli took second, with Piastri comfortably settling into third.

Things calmed down under a virtual safety car due to Jack Doohan’s Alpine stopping on track after colliding with Liam Lawson.

After the incident with Verstappen, Norris voiced his frustration on team radio: “He [Verstappen] forced me off, mate. What was I supposed to do? Just drive into the wall or something?”

“I was completely alongside!”

Race Control decided against further investigation, allowing the race to continue.

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The battle for the lead intensified as Piastri applied pressure on Verstappen, who managed to hold him off until lap 13 when the Australian finally got past.

But McLaren’s onslaught was not finished; just two laps later, Verstappen found himself in a fierce contest with Norris once more.

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Norris executed a daring inside pass but later relinquished the position as the competition heated up.

In the end, Norris pulled off a well-timed overtaking maneuver on lap 18, seizing second place despite Verstappen’s strong defense.

A dramatic turn of events occurred when British Haas driver Oliver Bearman’s engine failed, prompting a stoppage at Turn Eight and a virtual safety car along with multiple pit stops.

This twist allowed George Russell to leap ahead of Antonelli and Verstappen, securing third place during the VSC.

Red Bull encountered further issues in the pit lane, with Yuki Tsunoda receiving a five-second penalty for speeding.

A third virtual safety car was initiated after Gabriel Bortoleto’s car suffered engine troubles.

In a strategic move, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton executed a double overtaking maneuver, passing Carlos Sainz.

As 18 laps remained, Piastri and Norris kept a comfortable seven-second gap, setting the stage for potential changes.

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Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, exhibited evident frustration with his team’s choices, especially related to the failure to allow a position swap with Leclerc.

His engineer noted, “We want to maintain DRS for Charles, so proceed like this.”

Hamilton replied, “You guys! This isn’t good teamwork. That’s all I’ll say!”

Although the swap eventually occurred, an annoyed Hamilton remarked earlier, “In China, I got out of the way when you were on a different strategy. Have a tea break while you’re at it, come on!”

On the flip side, Leclerc stated, “I need Lewis to speed up; I’m just stuck in dirty air now.”

The Monegasque was closely tailing Hamilton, voicing his concerns about his tires overheating behind him.

As lap 52 approached, Hamilton was instructed to “swap positions” with Leclerc, who was curiously told to pass him at Turn 11.

Always quick on his feet, Hamilton quipped when informed that Carlos Sainz was 1.4 seconds behind, “Want me to let him past as well?”