McLaren has basically turned Florida into their own backyard. If you’re looking for the Miami Grand Prix results, the headline is simple: Oscar Piastri is the new king of the 305.
He didn't just win. He dominated.
The 2025 race was a statement. After Lando Norris broke the internet with his maiden win here in 2024, Piastri decided he wanted a piece of that sunshine. He took the lead from Max Verstappen on lap 14 and never really looked back.
Honestly, seeing a Red Bull get passed on pure pace feels weird. We’ve spent years watching Verstappen disappear into the distance. Not this time. The McLaren MCL38 (and its 2025 evolution) has turned into a rocket ship.
How the Miami Grand Prix Results Shook Up the Grid
The weekend was a chaotic mess of humidity and high-speed chess. Verstappen started on pole, which usually means the race is over before the first corner. But Miami is different. The track surface is notoriously finicky.
By lap 11, Piastri was all over the back of the Red Bull. Verstappen was complaining about the car being "super slippery." It looked like he was driving on ice while the McLarens were on rails.
The Top 10 Finshers
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 1:28:51.587
- Lando Norris (McLaren) - +4.630s
- George Russell (Mercedes) - +37.644s
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - +39.956s
- Alex Albon (Williams) - +48.067s
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - +55.502s
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - +57.036s
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - +60.186s
- Carlos Sainz (Williams) - +60.577s
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) - +74.434s
Wait, Alex Albon in P5? Yeah, you read that right. Williams brought a massive upgrade package to Miami and Albon drove the wheels off that car. It’s easily the best result for the Grove-based team in years.
Mercedes also had a "kinda" good day. George Russell managed to snag the final podium spot after a lucky Virtual Safety Car (VSC) on lap 29. Oliver Bearman’s Haas gave up the ghost, and Russell dove into the pits. He came out ahead of a very frustrated Verstappen.
The Drama You Might Have Missed
While the front of the pack was all about the "Papaya" dominance, the midfield was a literal war zone.
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Kimi Antonelli, the Mercedes wunderkind, had a hell of a debut season weekend. He actually took the Sprint pole earlier in the week. In the main race, he held his own against Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Speaking of Hamilton—his first trip to Miami in a Ferrari red suit was... bumpy.
The Ferrari looked sluggish in the heat. Hamilton and Leclerc spent most of the race fighting each other rather than the cars in front. It’s clear Fred Vasseur still has work to do to get that car leveled up with McLaren.
DNFs and Heartbreak
- Jack Doohan (Alpine): Out on Lap 1 after contact with Liam Lawson.
- Oliver Bearman (Haas): Mechanical failure on Lap 29.
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber): Retired on Lap 30.
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls): DNF on Lap 36.
Lawson’s weekend was a disaster. He got demoted from the main Red Bull seat earlier in the year, and Miami didn't help his case for a 2026 seat. He tangled with Doohan early and then had another incident that eventually ended his race.
Why McLaren is Suddenly This Good
It isn't luck.
Zak Brown has built a culture that just works. When Lando Norris won in 2024, people thought it was a fluke caused by a Safety Car. The Miami Grand Prix results from 2025 proved them wrong.
The team double-stacked their pit stops under the VSC perfectly. Piastri and Norris came out 1-2 and just checked out. The gap to Russell in third was over 30 seconds. In F1 terms, that's an eternity.
Verstappen finishing 4th is the real shocker though. For the first time since 2016, he finished outside the points in a Sprint (due to a penalty) and then struggled in the main GP. Is the Red Bull era actually ending? Maybe.
Actionable Insights for F1 Fans
If you're following the championship, these results changed everything.
- Watch the Championship Standings: Oscar Piastri is now leading the pack. If he keeps this momentum, he’s the favorite for the title.
- Keep an eye on Williams: They aren't backmarkers anymore. Alex Albon is a serious threat for "best of the rest" points every weekend now.
- Don't write off Mercedes: Their upgrades finally seem to be working. Russell is consistently beating the Ferraris, which was unthinkable at the start of the season.
The next stop is Imola. Historically, that's a very different track from the street-circuit vibes of Miami. If McLaren can win there too, then the 2025 season is officially their world, and we're just living in it.
The 2025 Miami Grand Prix showed us that the grid has finally caught up to Red Bull. We have a three-way (maybe four-way) fight for the title, and honestly, that’s exactly what the sport needed.
To get the most out of these standings, keep a close watch on the technical updates coming to the European leg of the season. Teams usually bring their biggest aero changes to Spain and Silverstone. If McLaren holds their 30-second lead through those races, the constructors' championship is likely settled.