Oscar Piastri Hails McLaren After “Unbelievable… Read More
Oscar Piastri celebrated a hard-fought and emotional victory at the Miami Grand Prix, praising both his own development and McLaren’s impressive progress over the past two years. Despite missing out on the Sprint victory to teammate Lando Norris, Piastri bounced back to secure a dominant win in Sunday’s main race, marking a significant milestone in his Formula 1 career.
Piastri had shown strong form earlier in the weekend, narrowly missing out on the Sprint race win after Norris capitalized on a late Safety Car period. However, he couldn’t quite replicate his P2 performance from Sprint Qualifying in the main Grand Prix qualifying, where he ended up fourth on the grid.
At the start of the 57-lap race, chaos at Turn 1 involving Norris and Max Verstappen worked to Piastri’s advantage. As Norris dropped down the order after a tussle with Verstappen, Piastri was able to move up quickly, overtaking Mercedes’ rookie Kimi Antonelli and positioning himself to challenge for the lead. Avoiding further incidents and maintaining sharp awareness, the Australian soon found himself at the front of the pack.
“Managing to come away with the win today is just an incredible result,” said Piastri. “There was a bit of drama at Turn 1, which played into my hands a little, but from that point on, I knew the car was performing at an exceptional level.”
Throughout the race, Piastri displayed remarkable consistency, navigating multiple Virtual Safety Car periods and maintaining control over the chasing pack. While Norris steadily closed the gap in the final laps, Piastri remained composed and ultimately finished over four seconds ahead of his teammate.
The most telling indicator of McLaren’s dominance was the gap to third-place finisher George Russell, who crossed the finish line a staggering 37.6 seconds after Piastri. The commanding performance underlined McLaren’s impressive race pace and ongoing resurgence in the sport.
Reflecting on the journey, Piastri expressed immense pride in the team’s transformation. “It’s hard to believe where we are now,” he said. “Just two years ago in Miami, we were arguably the slowest team on the grid and got lapped twice. To win today with such a margin shows how far we’ve come.”
Piastri also credited the entire McLaren team, from those trackside to the staff at the factory, for their relentless efforts. “There’s still room to improve, but I’m thrilled with today’s result,” he added. “Leaving Miami with a win and top points feels incredible – we’ve come a long way.”
