The 2025 Formula 1 season has reached its sixth round and its first of three in the United States with the fourth annual Miami Grand Prix this weekend. McLaren breakout star Oscar Piastri enters with the world drivers’ championship points lead and as one of the odds-on favorites, but teammate Lando Norris and Red Bull’s four-time defending champion Max Verstappen are lurking.
Here’s what to know about the Miami Grand Prix:
All times Eastern
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Sunday, May 4 3-3:55 p.m.: Pre-race show (ABC)
3:55-6 p.m.: Miami Grand Prix (ABC)
Track: Miami International Autodrome (Miami Gardens, Florida), 3.36-mile, 19-turn temporary street circuit
Length: 57 laps for 191.58 miles (308.32 kilometers)
Lap record: 1:29.708s (Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 2023)
Tire compounds: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft)
The available tires for this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix are the three softest in the Pirelli range. (Courtesy of Pirelli)
1. Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda RBPT2. Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes3. Kimi Antonelli (12), Mercedes4. Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes5. George Russell (63), Mercedes6. Carlos Sainz (55), Williams-Mercedes7. Alexander Albon (23), Williams-Mercedes8. Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari9. Esteban Ocon (31), Haas-Ferrari10. Yuki Tsunoda (22), Red Bull-Honda RBPT11. Isack Hadjar (6), RB-Honda RBPT12. Lewis Hamilton (44), Ferrari13. Gabriel Bortoleto (5), Sauber-Ferrari14. Jack Doohan (7), Alpine-Renault15. Liam Lawson (30), RB-Honda RBPT16. Nico Hülkenberg, (27), Sauber-Ferrari17. Fernando Alonso (14), Aston Martin-Mercedes18. Pierre Gasly (10), Alpine-Renault19. Lance Stroll (18), Aston Martin-Mercedes
20. Oliver Bearman, (87), Haas-Ferrari
For the second consecutive Miami Grand Prix weekend, McLaren’s Lando Norris is the beneficiary of a timely safety car. After claiming his maiden F1 win in last year’s Miami Grand Prix due to a lucky caution, Norris won this year’s wild sprint race with another lucky break.
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While sprint races don’t typically feature pit stops due to the shorter distance, rain forced the teams to start the event on wet-weather tires but rapidly drying track conditions forced them to switch to the slicks.
As pit stops were cycling through on Lap 15, Oscar Piastri held a slight lead over teammate Norris, meaning he got to pit first. That seemed like a disadvantage to Norris at the time, but as he was ducking into the pit lane, Liam Lawson plowed into Fernando Alonso. That sent the Spaniard into the wall, disabling the vehicle and bringing out the safety car.
Norris beat Piastri to the timing line and since the race ended under the safety car, he couldn’t be passed.
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Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda was the first to make the jump to slicks on Lap 11 of the 18-lap event, followed shortly by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Williams’ Carlos Sainz. The run was on from there, as nearly every car in the field pitted – the only ones that didn’t just did not have the opportunity before the safety car.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen earned a 10-second time penalty for unsafe release after he barreled into Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in the pit lane. Antonelli started the Sprint on pole – the youngest man ever to do so in F1 – but surrendered the lead to Piastri in the first corner after rain delayed the start by about 30 minutes.
Charles Leclerc did not get to take part in the sprint race as he lost control of his Ferrari on the formation lap and smacked the wall.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli will start the Miami Grand Prix Sprint from pole position after setting a blistering lap of 1:26.482 at the Miami International Autodrome on Friday evening. Antonelli usurped the provisional pole lap set by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1:26.737). Before the third sprint qualifying session ended, the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris slotted in between Antonelli and Verstappen.
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“Was a very intense qualifying,” Antonelli told the broadcast. “I felt really good since this morning and I felt good going into qualifying. I put everything together, so really happy to get the first pole.
“Tomorrow will be nice to start on the front row, will be a bit of a different feeling.”
At 18 years old, Antonelli is the youngest pole-sitter in any qualifying format in F1 history, beating the previous record held by Sebastian Vettel by more than two years. The Sky Sports broadcast pointed out an interesting piece of trivia: On the day Antonelli was born — Aug. 25, 2006 — Vettel made his first appearance in an F1 car. From there, all Vettel did was become the youngest F1 world champion in 2010, the first of four on the trot.
Miami Grand Prix Sprint starting grid
1. Kimi Antonelli (12), Mercedes2. Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes3. Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes4. Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda RBPT5. George Russell (63), Mercedes6. Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari7. Lewis Hamilton (44), Ferrari8. Alexander Albon (23), Williams-Mercedes9. Isack Hadjar (6), RB-Honda RBPT10. Fernando Alonso (14), Aston Martin-Mercedes11. Nico Hülkenberg, (27), Sauber-Ferrari12. Esteban Ocon (31), Haas-Ferrari13. Pierre Gasly (10), Alpine-Renault14. Liam Lawson (30), RB-Honda RBPT15. Carlos Sainz (55), Williams-Mercedes16. Lance Stroll (18), Aston Martin-Mercedes17. Jack Doohan (7), Alpine-Renault18. Yuki Tsunoda (22), Red Bull-Honda RBPT19. Gabriel Bortoleto (5), Sauber-Ferrari
20. Oliver Bearman, (87), Haas-Ferrari
Miami marks the second of 24 rounds of the 2025 Formula 1 world championship that will be contested under the Sprint weekend format, which differs from the traditional three practice/qualifying/grand prix schedule.
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Following a single practice session early Friday, teams will have an abbreviated 44-minute, three-round knockout qualifying session similar to the traditional 60-minute, three-round format. That will set the grid for a roughly 100-kilometer (1/3 grand prix distance) Sprint race that takes place early Saturday. There is no mandatory pit stop to change tire compounds — tire wear isn’t an issue with the shorter distance — and championship points are awarded for the top eight finishers of the sprint in descending order (eight points for the win, seven for second place, six for third, etc.).
The teams return later Saturday for the usual grand prix qualifying session that sets the grid for Sunday’s main event. Miami marks the first Sprint weekend of the season, with the remaining rounds consisting of Belgium (July 25-27), United States at Austin (Oct. 17-19), Sao Paulo (Nov. 7-9) and Qatar (Nov. 28-30).
Odds courtesy of BetMGM
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Best odds to win Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes +150Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes +150Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda +400George Russell (63), Mercedes +1200
Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari +1200
Miami Grand Prix history
Past winners
2022: Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull RBPT
2023: Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda
2024: Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes
Lando Norris claimed his maiden Formula 1 win at last year’s Miami Grand Prix. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua via Getty Images)
(Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)
Free practice 1 was cut short by about five minutes by a spin and sharp wall contact from Haas’ Oliver Bearman. Several drivers including Lando Norris Lewis Hamilton were on flying laps on the soft tire when the red flag came out. World drivers’ championship points leader Oscar Piastri did get a fast lap on the softs and topped the timing charts with a time of 1:27.128. Friday afternoon marked the only practice session of the weekend.
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1. Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes – 1:27.1282. Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari – 1:27.4843. Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda RBPT – 1:27.5584. Carlos Sainz (55), Williams-Mercedes – 1:27.6785. Alexander Albon (23), Williams-Mercedes – 1:27.9556. Isack Hadjar (6), RB-Honda RBPT – 1:27.9687. George Russell (63), Mercedes – 1:28.0588. Yuki Tsunoda (22), Red Bull-Honda RBPT – 1:28.1559. Kimi Antonelli (12), Mercedes – 1:28.22710. Fernando Alonso (14), Aston Martin-Mercedes – 1:28.24311. Liam Lawson (30), RB-Honda RBPT – 1:28.37412. Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes – 1:28.39113. Lewis Hamilton (44), Ferrari – 1:28.55614. Nico Hülkenberg, (27), Sauber-Ferrari – 1:28.57315. Gabriel Bortoleto (5), Sauber-Ferrari – 1:28.77116. Oliver Bearman, (87), Haas-Ferrari – 1:28.99617. Pierre Gasly (10), Alpine-Renault – 1:29.08418. Esteban Ocon (31), Haas-Ferrari – 1:29.17919. Jack Doohan (7), Alpine-Renault – 1:29.357
20. Lance Stroll (18), Aston Martin-Mercedes – 1:29.362
Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda RBPT Yuki Tsunoda (22), Red Bull-Honda RBPT Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari Lewis Hamilton (44), Ferrari Kimi Antonelli (12), Mercedes George Russell (63), Mercedes Jack Doohan (7), Alpine-RenaultPierre Gasly (10), Alpine-RenaultLando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes Gabriel Bortoleto (5), Sauber-FerrariNico Hülkenberg, (27), Sauber-Ferrari Fernando Alonso (14), Aston Martin-Mercedes Lance Stroll (18), Aston Martin-Mercedes Esteban Ocon (31), Haas-Ferrari Oliver Bearman, (87), Haas-Ferrari Isack Hadjar (6), RB-Honda RBPT Liam Lawson (30), RB-Honda RBPTAlexander Albon (23), Williams-Mercedes
Carlos Sainz (55), Williams-Mercedes
The Yahoo weather weekend forecast for Miami calls for temperatures in the low 80s. Clear skies on Friday for practice and Sprint qualifying, with more than a 50% chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday. If there is scattered precipitation, the high air temperatures should dry the track at least adequately enough for cars to run their intermediate or wet-weather tires should the conditions preclude teams from running slicks.
