Lando Norris emerges from mayhem in Miami to land sprint victory

Lando Norris spearheaded a McLaren one-two in the Miami sprint after pre-race rain accounted for Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

A heavy downpour shortly before the 18-lap event at the Miami International Autodrome saw Leclerc crash out on his way to the grid, reducing the field to 19 cars.

Following a red flag after two formation laps due to the conditions, and a 24-minute delay, Oscar Piastri muscled his way into the lead from second on the grid past the youngest polesitter in F1 history in Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.

From there, Piastri was comfortable until the round of pit stops when the drivers switched to slicks from the intermediates on which they had all started.

A safety car for Fernando Alonso crashing in his Aston Martin on lap 14 played its part in helping Norris take the lead. Sadly, the race ended behind Bernd Maylander.

A superb early stop allowed Lewis Hamilton to complete the podium in his Ferrari, whilst Max Verstappen dropped from fourth to 17th and last after being handed a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release.

The win for Norris means he closed the gap at the top of the standings on Piastri to nine points.

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Leclerc misery as chaos unfolds

The rain caused chaos even before the start, with Leclerc crashing his Ferrari on his lap to the grid. The Monégasque was sent aquaplaning into a wall.

Leclerc carried on but scattered debris across the track, resulting in him facing an investigation for driving his car in an unsafe condition. The damage, however, meant he did not take part in the race.

Although the rain stopped before the start, FIA race director Rui Marques decided to conduct the formation lap behind the safety car. A second followed, and over both, the drivers complained about the conditions.

Antonelli said he could not see anything behind the safety car, whilst Piastri radioed that, "This visibility is genuinely the worst I've ever had in a race car." Unsurprisingly, Marques called a red flag.

After a 24-minute hiatus, two laps - declared the first of the 18-lap race - were conducted behind the safety car. That was to allow all drivers to go through Turn 1, and for Marques to decide on a standing versus a rolling start.

Verstappen said the conditions were "raceable", although Piastri described visibility on the straights as "pretty bad". Nevertheless, the decision was taken for a standing start.

Piastri made a marginally better getaway, allowing him to challenge Antonelli into the first corner, resulting in the 18-year-old taking to the run-off and dropping to fourth coming out of the corner.

Although Antonelli complained he had been pushed off the track by Piastri, the stewards determined no investigation was needed.

Despite the conditions, the 19-car field - minus Leclerc - emerged unscathed through the opening lap, at the end of which Piastri led from Norris and Verstappen.

Piastri soon declared the track to be "drying very quickly", and with clear air in front of him, he opened up a two-second cushion over Norris after seven laps, with Verstappen a further 2.6s adrift.

Verstappen was fortunate to escape a time penalty after being reviewed for being out of position in his grid box at the start. The four-time F1 champion appeared to be clearly over the line, yet no action was taken.

After 10 laps, Red Bull was the first to pull the trigger on a tyre change, with Yuki Tsunoda, who had started from the pit lane after suspension setup changes made under parc fermé conditions, taking on mediums, followed by Hamilton a lap later, but on softs. That proved crucial. Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Williams' Carlos Sainz also pitted.

When Verstappen and Antonelli pitted, the former's exit saw him clip the Mercedes, breaking the wheel cover on the Italian's car and missing his chance to pit as he was forced to abort. It resulted in Verstappen being given a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release.

Piastri pitted a lap later from the lead, offering Norris, who had closed to under a second on the Australian, the opportunity of an undercut. As Norris pitted, a safety car was called when Alonso crashed out heavily after being clipped by the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson. It helped Norris take the lead and ultimately the victory.

With Verstappen relegated to the back of the pack, Williams' Alex Albon netted fourth but he is under investigation for a safety car procedure infringement.

Mercedes' George Russell was fifth, followed by Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, Lawson - although he is also being investigated for causing the collision that ended Alonso's race - with Haas' Ollie Bearman, from 19th, taking the final point.

As for Antonelli, he finished a wretchedly disappointing 10th, with the Verstappen collision in the pit lane wrecking his points hopes.