Oscar Piastri remains dominant McLaren teammate despite Lando Norris’ sprint win in Miami – UK Times

Despite Lando Norris coming out on top in Miami’s Saturday sprint race, Oscar Piastri remains the dominant McLaren of the driver duo.

Piastri had an advantage right away, starting ahead of Norris in second, and capitalised on it by beating pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli on the first lap’s first corner. But it wasn’t until Piastri pitted on lap 14 that Norris took the lead.

When a safety car left less than a lap up for grabs in the 18-lap sprint, Norris was the one who made it out of the pits in time to take the lead and keep it. Piastri, who had successfully held off Norris most of the race, reflected on the “cruel business” of racing post-sprint.

“I feel like I did pretty much everything right there. Obviously, a bit disappointed to come away with second, but that’s how it goes sometimes,” Piastri said. “Unfortunately, racing’s a pretty cruel business.”

Just nine points separate the two papaya orange-clad athletes in the driver standings, but it’s the Australian driver who leads the championship.

Norris, who joined the Woking-based team in 2019, has been the favorite to win the 2025 title after battling four-time world champ Max Verstappen for it in 2024. The 25-year-old fell shy of clutching the trophy by 63 points.

But now that Piastri holds three feature race wins to Norris’ one this year, he has become one to watch. Ahead of the season, the 24-year-old seemed to speak the words into existence when he said “I can become world champion this year.”

Six races into the 2025 season, Piastri isn’t letting the championship lead get to his head. He said it’s “far too early” to get excited about the small gap he leads by. “The championship lead is nice, but I think I said after Saudi, I’m much more proud and satisfied with, kind of, the work and the reasons why,” Piastri said on Thursday.

Miami was a turning point for the team last year, Piastri said in a media session on Thursday. Lando Norris secured his maiden F1 win at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.

But not all of 2024 was smooth sailing for McLaren despite clinching the World Constructors’ Championship. The team, who has insisted there is no “No. 1” driver at the team, suffered from a slew of team orders that, at times, prevented both drivers from racing each other fully.

The team cleared things up at the start of the season, claiming the two drivers were starting on a clean slate. As the gap between the two threatens to close at Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, McLaren faces the double-edged sword of balancing two championship contenders.

The Miami Grand Prix will take place at 21:00 BST on Sunday 4 May.