Round four sees the first of two trips to the Americas and the first of back-to-back sprint weekends, in Miami. Following the unplanned April break and a slower month in May, the next month is the calm before the long summer leg with six races in eight weeks.
F1 made its debut here in 2022, however, Miami held its first Grand Prix a century ago in 1926, this being the fourth alteration of the Grand Prix previously being the CART IndyCar World Series and an Indy Racing League in 1980s until 2010.
The race can be traced back to the pre-war era and has been used as a title for many different series over the last century, including F1’s predecessor Grand Prix racing in the 1920s and 1930s, although organised not by what became the FIA.
The first Grand Prix was a non-championship round of the pre-war AAA Contest Board, the American version of the Grand Prix racing, which later evolved into F1. It was intended to be the winter home for motorsport, but it was more of an American-style banked oval circuit. Only one race was held, won by Peter DePalo. Grand Am would also use the title as a support race between 1998 and 2012, all these races taking place on different circuits in Miami.
Miami also held Formula E in 2015, before the plans for F1 began to come together for 2022.
The circuit built around the Hard Rock Stadium made its debut in 2022. The nineteen-corner circuit was a result of seventy-five designs and thirty-six simulations, the designer wanted to create a circuit which maximised the space and created opportunities for overtaking. However, this hasn’t been one of the best of the current generation when compared to Baku or Jeddah. There has been a rumour about looking at some of the other designs to try to boost overtaking
Miami held its first Grand Prix in 1926, the fourth iteration after the CART IndyCar World Series and the Indy Racing League in the 1980s through 2010. The race can be traced back to the pre-war era and has been used as a title for many different series over the last century, including F1’s predecessor Grand Prix racing in the 1920s and 1930s, although organised not by what became the FIA.
Plans for an F1 race can be traced back to the early 1980s when Ralph Sanchez, a local Miami promoter and racing car driver, proposed a race on a hybrid street/permanent circuit in Bayfront Park in the centre of Miami to Bernie Ecclestone, but for various reasons was not able to make it work.
Liberty Media and Port of Miami put forward a similar proposal in 2019, based on the original proposal inspired by Baku, but for the same reasons, these also failed. The third attempt was creating the circuit we see around the Hard Rock Stadium. The circuit is tricky, given it’s one where you need to balance risk versus reward. Its design was a result of seventy-five designs and thirty-six simulations; the designer wanted to create a circuit which maximised the space and created opportunities for overtaking.
The three main straights, followed by herd-breaking zones, the circuit often being the main opportunity for overtaking, with two of them being good for overtaking, but that isn’t without risk. The normal caveats apply there, with the high chances of safety cars, red flags and yellow flags, meaning the normal strategy variations. But this, to me, feels like a go-kart circuit, but one of very high spec; we are beginning to see it come almost the standard in the sport.
Miami is the first of three street circuits and the first back-to-back sprint weekend, with Montreal at the end of the month. But these aren’t traditional street circuits we are in, as this North America leg takes place on car parks or roads around parks, in Montreal. Drivers have little time to adapt to the upgrades, which would have been brought in Bahrain, but waiting until Barcelona would be a quarter of the way, if we go by the original calendar through the season.
The first race in 2022 saw Charles Leclerc beat his teammate Carlos Sainz to pole by two tenths, with the Monacan topping all three parts of qualifying. Max Verstappen looked to have the edge going onto the final runs; however, he couldn’t repeat the form he had shown earlier in the session, before making a mistake on the final lap, leaving him almost two-tenths behind his rival.
Verstappen went on to take victory by four seconds after passing the Ferrari, he dominated the race and would have probably won by eight seconds, but in the final quarter of the race, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris crashed.
Sainz recovered from his difficult start to the weekend to finish third, seven-tenths behind. The Spaniard managed to hold on to third despite coming under pressure from Sergio Perez, who tried to use the advantage of switching to new medium tyres to pass the second Ferrari.
2023 saw Sergio Perez beat Fernando Alonso to pole after it was decided on the opening runs, and left Verstappen tenth after he aborted his first run, while the second runs at the end of Q3 were abandoned after Leclerc crashed. Sainz put his Ferrari third, half a second off pole and ahead of the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who put in a decent performance to go fourth. Logan Sargeant was the slowest, the Floridian going nearly a tenth behind Piastri ahead of his home Grand Prix.
In the race, Verstappen carved his way through the field thanks to a long opening stint and not stopping until way into the final quarter of the race, passing Perez with eleven laps to go. For a long period, the race seemed set for a grandstand finish as the margin remained around sixteen seconds, four seconds less than the time Verstappen would need to complete his pit stop.
2024 saw the first sprint weekend in Miami, with Verstappen winning the sprint from pole after fending off Leclerc following an early safety car. brought out for a collision involving Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Stroll was on the outside of Alonso and Hamilton, who dived up the inside to make up ground. Alonso suffered a puncture as he was sandwiched by Hamilton and Stroll, the latter also retired after pitting at the end of the first lap.
Verstappen took pole for the grand prix, finishing a tenth and a quarter ahead of Leclerc. Daniel Ricciardo was fourth, six hundredths ahead of Carlos Sainz. Leclerc had missed most of practice after he spun off and hit the wall, bringing out the red flag as he stopped on the track.
The Sprint, Verstappen fended off Leclerc, who made a good start before a safety car was brought out for a collision involving Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Stroll was on the outside of Alonso and Hamilton, who dived up the inside to make up ground. Alonso suffered a puncture as he was sandwiched by Hamilton and Stroll, the latter also retired after pitting at the end of the first lap.
GP Qualifying saw Verstappen take pole once again, ahead of Leclerc by a tenth and a quarter, despite neither improving on their final attempts. Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz beat the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez to third. Lando Norris going fifth, using the upgrades, the Englishman a tenth and a half behind Perez and ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri by nearly a tenth.
Norris went on to secure his maiden victory following a long opening stint, allowing him to take the lead under the VSC when others stopped and then rejoined in the lead and fended off Verstappen at the restart to take his first win since Bahrain 2018 in F2.
Having achieved fifteen podiums before reaching the top step of the podium, the win meant Norris tied the record jointly held by Patrick Depailler, Mika Häkkinen, Eddie Irvine and Jean Alesi for the most podiums scored before taking a maiden Grand Prix win.
Race & Circuit Guide
| Round | 04 of 22 | |
| Race | Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix | |
| Venue | Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, United States | |
| Configuration | 2022 Grand Prix | |
| Circuit Length | 5.410 km (3.362 mi) | |
| Sprint
|
Laps | 19 |
| Race Distance | 102.828km (63.897mi) | |
| Grand Prix | Laps | 57 |
| Race Distance | 308.326km (191.584mi) | |
| Lap Record | Race | 01:29.708 (Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, 2023, F1) |
| Outright | 01:26.204 (Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB21, 2023, Formula One) | |
| Previous Current Winners | Max Verstappen (2 Grand Prix, 1 Sprint)
Lando Norris (1 Grand Prix, 1 Sprint) Oscar Piastri (1 Grand Prix) |
|
| Most wins (Drivers) | Max Verstappen (2) | |
| Most wins (Constructors) | Red Bull | |
| Most wins (Engine Manufacture) | Honda (2)
Mercedes |
|
Fast facts
- Miami is one of 12 different U.S. venues to have hosted a Formula 1 grand prix and, outside of the racing, it is known for its lively city atmosphere, hot and humid climate, and iconic sandy beaches.
- The polesitter is yet to win the Miami Grand Prix, though Max Verstappen did win the sprint from pole in 2024.
- The winner of the inaugural Grand Prix, held in 1926, was Pete DePaolo. DePaolo had won the Indianapolis 500 one year previously. He went on to sing “Back Home Again in Indiana” as part of the pre-race traditions before the start of the 1971 Indianapolis 500.
- Lando Norris claimed the first victory of his Formula 1 career at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. It made him the first driver to secure their maiden F1 win in the United States since Michele Alboreto at the 1982 Caesars Palace (Las Vegas) Grand Prix.
Event timetable
Session |
Local (EDT) |
UK (BST) |
Friday |
||
| P1 | 12:00-13:30 | 17:00-18:30 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 16:30-17:15 | 21:30-22:15 |
Saturday |
||
| Sprint | 12:00 | 17:00 |
| Qualifying | 16:00-17:00 | 21:00-22:00 |
Sunday |
||
| Race | 16:00 | 21:00 |
What happened in 2025?
Practice saw Oscar Piastri fastest with a 27.128 to put himself three and a half tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc. The Australian managed to complete his soft tyre run before Ollie Bearman lost control and spun his Haas at the Turn Eleven-Twelve complex, just as the final runs were being completed. Max Verstappen put his Red Bull third, nearly eight hundredths behind the Ferrari, and was just over a tenth faster than both Williams, with Carlos Sainz going nearly three-tenths faster than his teammate Alex Albon.
Sprint qualifying saw Kimi Antonelli take his maiden pole after setting set a new track record of 26.482 on his final attempt, putting himself a tenth and a half ahead of Oscar Piastri. Piastri went over half a tenth faster than his teammate Lando Norris. Verstappen put his Red Bull fourth, going half a tenth faster than George Russell.
Norris beat Piastri in a wet, chaotic sprint race to take victory by six tenths. The Englishman pitted going on soft tyres and rejoined ahead of Piastri, with Lewis Hamilton staying out longer and pitting from third just before Alonso’s crash. Ferrari timed it perfectly for him to retain third as the safety car came out onto track; he finished on the podium nearly a second and a half ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon.
GP qualifying Verstappen beat Norris by six and a half hundredths to take pole position. The Red Bull driver put himself fastest at the start of the final runs, but the McLaren challenge appeared to disappear at the end of Q3. Following his pole, Antonelli managed to split the two McLarens, going two thousandths behind Norris and over a tenth faster than Piastri.
Piastri beat Norris by four and a half seconds to take victory in the Grand Prix. Piastri drove another steady race and became the first McLaren driver to win three Grands Prix in a row since 1998. McLaren had a clear advantage. George Russell was thirty seconds behind at the chequered flag.
Russell finished third, having benefited from several virtual safety cars to come through to fourth before passing Verstappen at half distance, where he stayed as he was able to maintain a roughly two-second gap over the Red Bull.
Sprint Pole Position |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 01:26.482 |
|||||
Sprint Winner |
Lando Norris McLaren – Mercedes 36:37.647 |
|||||
Pole Position |
Max Verstappen Red Bull – Honda RBPT 01:26.204 |
|||||
Podium |
||||||
Po |
Name |
Nat |
Team |
Time |
Points |
|
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren – Mercedes | 01:28:51.587 | 25 | |
| 2 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren – Mercedes | +00:04.630 | 18 | |
| 3 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes | +00:37.644 | 15 | |
| Fastest
Lap |
Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren – Mercedes | 01:29.746 | ||
Championship Standings
Drivers’ Championship |
Constructors Championship |
|||
Po |
Name |
Points |
Constructor |
Points |
| 1 | Andrea ‘Kimi’ Antonelli | 72 | Mercedes | 135 |
| 2 | George Russell | 63 | Ferrari | 90 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | 49 | McLaren – Mercedes | 43 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | 41 | Haas – Ferrari | 18 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | 25 | Alpine – Mercedes | 16 |
What to watch for?
After the spring break, the first since 2022, the watchwords will be upgrades and whether the extra development time for the upgrades that would have been brought a month ago in Sakhir has closed the gap to Mercedes. The next real opportunity to properly test these upgrades is when we are expecting the next big upgrades in Barcelona.
The big question after this pause is whether any team has managed to close the gap to Mercedes, who have taken dominant wins in the opening three rounds. To me, it seems like their advantage isn’t as big as, say, when we had the last power unit changes in 2014, but they can’t afford slip-ups, as I think there are already signs that others are closing in.
Last year, Kimi Antonelli had one of the high points of his debut season, with his sprint pole, and he then went on a downward spiral of mistakes and buckled under pressure. He goes into this race as the championship leader and that could give. But there has been a speculation that he could be the real deal. How does he handle the pressure and coming back after the break?
Miami is one of these new circuits, high-speed street circuits but to me it doesn’t create the same kind of overtaking and action compared to Baku, Jeddah or Las Vegas. But we still get hard racing as it can lead to overtaking, but the risk is still there, making reacting to events on track the difference
Ferrari finished the opening stint of the season, appearing to be the closest challenger to Mercedes. The question is, have they closed the advantage we have seen Mercedes have in race form? They, however, need to be wary as in Suzuka it appeared that McLaren had turned a corner, and I think given the rate of development over the previous cycle, you can’t count them out. If Mercedes are the runaway championship leaders, we could see a 2023-style fight between Ferrari and McLaren develop before the summer break.
This is a sprint weekend at a street-style circuit, meaning the drivers need to be on it, something which is going to be key across the next three races. Miami we do see accidents and mistakes. This is a sprint weekend, as is Montreal in three weeks, meaning mistakes in FP1 or the qualifying sessions.
We also have an extended practice session because of the tweaks approved last week to the regulations, which will be interesting to hear the feedback from the drivers on the changes to harvesting and deployment, as well as learning the impacts of both changes and whether they’ve resolved any of the problems
Ferrari is looking to bring the ‘Macarena’ wing as well as other upgrades; they are one of several teams bringing upgrades. McLaren is also bringing upgrades this weekend, which they are describing as being a “completely new car” by the end of May. Think McLaren are on the right path, and appearing to take the same approach and not panicking at being off the pace as that what worked under the last cycle.
Red Bull is in a difficult place in a race of their own, having slipped out of the top three and Max Verstappen is not happy with these cars as well as the performance of Red Bull and Ford. As we saw with Lewis Hamilton, he didn’t get on with the ground effect cars, Verstappen doesn’t like these cars, and there are questions about whether his GT racing that can keep him motivated.
Midfield has the potential to close even further. Haas and Audi are the two teams that stand out to me. Haas has had a brilliant start to the season, but this will be a test for Ollie Bearman. You need to worry whether there has been a confidence knock following his accident in Suzuka, because he has had longer to dwell on it. But they have had a solid start to the season, they need to go forward.
Alpine have had a good start to the season, and they are fighting Haas, this is the story I think we need after the last few years; they might have proved the controversial decision to end its power unit programme was the right one. But, this is only round four after a six-week break so everything could change and then change again following the three weeks until Montreal.
2024 vs 2025 Race Data
P1 Fastest |
SQ1 Fastest |
SQ2 Fastest |
SQ3 Fastest |
Sprint time |
Q1 Fastest |
Q2 Fastest |
Q3 Fastest |
Race Time |
Fastest Lap |
|
2025 |
01:27.128 | 01:27.688 | 01:27.109 | 01:26.482 | 36:37.647 | 01:26.870 | 01:26.204 | 01:26.269 | 01:28:51.587 | 01:29.746 |
Diff |
-01.467 | -00.251 | -00.488 | -01.159 | +05:06.344 | -00.819 | -01.331 | -00.928 | -02:02.311 | -00.532 |
2024 |
01:28.595 | 01:27.939 | 01:27.597 | 01:27.641 | 31:31.383 | 01:27.689 | 01:27.533 | 01:27.241 | 01:30:49.876 | 01:30.634 |
2025 Lap time comparison
FP1 |
SQ1 |
SQ2 |
SQ3 |
Sprint |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Grand Prix |
||||||||||||
Team |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Race. Time |
Interval |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Race Time |
Gap |
Inter |
Mercedes |
01:28.058 | +00.580 | 01:27.688 | +00.000 | 01:27.384 | +00.275 | 01:26.482 | +00.000 | 38:40.774 | +00:03.107 | +00:02.054 | 01:27.014 | +00.144 | 01:26.575 | +00.306 | 01:26.271 | +00.067 | 01:29.29.237 | +00:37.644 | +00:33.014 |
Red Bull |
01:27.558 | +00.430 | 01:27.953 | +00.265 | 01:27.245 | +00.136 | 01:26.737 | +00.255 | 36:45.800 | +00:05.153 | +00:00.482 | 01:26.870 | +00.000 | 01:26.543 | +00.274 | 01:26.204 | +00.000 | 01:29:31.231 | +00:39.956 | +00:02.312 |
Ferrari |
01:27.484 | +00.356 | 01:28.231 | +00.543 | 01:27.467 | +00.358 | 01:26.808 | +00.326 | 36:40.700 | +00:01.073 | +00:00.000 | 01:27.279 | +00.409 | 01:26.948 | +00.679 | 01:26.754 | +00.550 | 01:29.48.623 | +00:57.036 | +00:01.534 |
McLaren |
01:27.128 | +00.000 | 01:27.890 | +00.202 | 01:27.109 | +00.000 | 01:26.527 | +00.045 | 36:37.647 | +00:00.000 | +00:00.000 | 01:26.955 | +00.085 | 01:26.269 | +00.000 | 01:26.269 | +00.065 | 01:28:51.587 | +00:00.000 | +00:00.000 |
Aston Martin |
01:28.243 | +01.115 | 01:28.455 | +00.757 | 01:27.766 | +00.657 | 01:27.790 | +01.308 | 38:41.059 | +00:03.412 | +00:00.285 | 01:27.504 | +00.634 | N/A | N/A | 01:29:12.566 | + 1 Lap | +00:19.824 | ||
Racing Bulls |
01:27.968 | +00.840 | 01:28.394 | +00.706 | 01:27.773 | +00.007 | 01:27.543 | +01.061 | 36:45.149 | +00:07.502 | +00:01.349 | 01:27.301 | +00.431 | 01:26.987 | +00.718 | N/A | 01:30:26.189 | +01:14.602 | +00:00.168 | |
Alpine |
01:29.084 | +01.956 | 01:28.345 | +00.657 | 01:28.167 | +01.058 | N/A | 36:43.620 | +00:05.635 | +00:00.338 | 01:27.422 | +00.552 | 01:27.187 | +00.914 | N/A | 01:30:22.032 | +01:30.445 | +00:08.439 | ||
Haas |
01:28.966 | +01.868 | 01:28.303 | +00.615 | 01:28.070 | +00.961 | N/A | 36:46.645 | +00:08.998 | +00:01.476 | 01:27.450 | +00.580 | 01:26.967 | +00.698 | 01:26.604 | +00.400 | 01:30:13.593 | +01:20.005 | +00:07.404 | |
Sauber |
01:28.573 | +01.445 | 01:28.542 | +00.854 | 01:27.850 | +00.741 | N/A | 36:43.800 | +00:06.153 | +00:00.180 | 01:27.343 | +00.473 | 01:27.151 | +00.882 | N/A | 01:28:52.742 | + 1 Lap | + 1 Lap | ||
Williams |
01:27.678 | +00.550 | 01:27.899 | +00.211 | 01:27.697 | +00.588 | 01:27.193 | +00.711 | 36:45.169 | +00:07.522 | +00:00.020 | 01:27.042 | +00.172 | 01:26.847 | +00.578 | 01:26.569 | +00.365 | 01:29:39.654 | +00:48.067 | +00:08.111 |
Tyres
White Hard (C3) |
Yellow Medium (C4) |
Red Soft (C5) |
