Miami Grand Prix Sprint: Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri home, Charles Leclerc completes the podium
F1 NewsSaturday, 02 May 2026 at 18:34
Lando Norris took the win for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix Sprint race after starting from pole as teammate Oscar Piastri followed him home in second as Charles Leclerc took the final podium position.
The reigning Formula 1 Champion did not put a foot wrong, launching his McLaren perfectly to go first into Turn 1 and never looked back afterwards leading the whole 19 laps to take the win.
Oscar Piastri executed an equally impressive start jumping Kimi Antonelli from third to take second place as both McLaren drove into the distance.
Norris retains the race lead, but Piastri moves up into P2 with Leclerc not far behind! π€―βοΈ
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
Here's how the start of the Sprint unfolded! π#F1Sprint #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/owpsuu1KDc
The Australian managed to fend off a late charge from Leclerc to secure second place while the Monegasque had to settle for third having started from fourth.
Mercedes' struggles continued on the second day of the Miami Grand Prix weekend as Antonelli dropped down the order at the start while his teammate, George Russell made up a position as the pair banged wheels early on with the younger staying ahead.
Antonelli tried to pass Leclerc but cooked his tyres in the process and dropped back into the clutches of his teammate.
Russell tried to pass Antonelli later on and made a move on Lap 7 but that did not last long as the Italian retook the place after just one lap.
However, and to add insult to injury, Antonelli was slapped with a five second time penalty for exceeding track limits too many times which meant he dropped sixth in the final order.
LAP 8/19
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
RUSSELL π ANTONELLI
George gets past Kimi at the hairpin, but Kimi fights back through! π±#F1Sprint #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/MPw3Dt59gT
Hence, Russell managed to finish fourth in the end ahead of Max Verstappen who was fifth which is where he started.
The Dutchman lost a position at the start and was squeezed by Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto who even touched the Red Bull's front wing.
Verstappen managed to stay ahead of Hamilton who started from seventh on the opening lap.
However, the seven-time F1 Champion managed to pass his 2021 nemesis on the second lap, but Verstappen tried to pass and did on Lap 8 but runs wide so he was instructed to give the place back.
LAP 8/19
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
AND VERSTAPPEN MUSCLES PAST HAMILTON! π²
...But the Red Bull driver has to give the place back later in the lap! π#F1Sprint #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/7sK2u8M2pq
Soon after that, on Lap 10, Verstappen launched a move on Hamilton at the hairpin and executed it properly this time around and set out chasing the Mercedes. While he could not pass them, he was close enough to benefit from Antonelli's penalty.
Hamilton finished the Sprint in seventh where he started while Pierre Gasly who passed Colapinto early on took the final point by finishing eighth.
On a final note, it was not clear what the regulations changes delivered as the Sprint was another glorified practice session, a procession without even yo-yo racing.
What the top three said
After taking the Sprint win, Norris said: "Nice to be back on the top step! A good day for us.
"It was hot out there and sweaty. I was pushing, trying to find that balance of pushing and staying relaxed to not make mistakes.
"A good start to the weekend but now I've got to do it all over again," he joked.
Asked whether he needed to have anything changed on his MCL40 before qualifying, the Briton said: "Probably not too many. It's worked so far.
"We will change a couple things. There are a couple things I want to be different from yesterday that we will adjust.
"Hopefully we have a bit more to come, but I'm sure the others will too. We will keep our head down and keep pushing," Norris concluded.
Second-placed Piastri simply did not have the pace of his teammate and commented after the Sprint: βIβm mostly satisfied. Thereβs obviously a little bit to find to try to stay with Lando, but overall, it was a good morning.
βWeβll try to see what we can do for qualifying. I think everyone else will learn a lot, but so will we, so hopefully we can maintain that through the rest of the weekend," he added.
As for Leclerc, he was obviously hoping for more given the pace of his Ferrari this weekend.
He commented: "The upgrades worked well. Thanks to the team that have done massive work over these five weeks.
"I'm not satisfied with P3," he admitted. "We wish we were higher but McLaren have brought significant upgrades as well and done a big step forward but we are not too far off.
"If we put everything together, we can start a bit higher up," Leclerc concluded.
Miami Grand Prix Sprint Provisional Classification
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