The Winners and losers from Miami GP 2025 list reflects one of the most dramatic weekends of the Formula 1 season so far as Oscar Piastri led home Lando Norris for a McLaren one-two to extend his Formula 1 championship lead in Florida.
The Woking-based outfit laid down its dominance at the Miami International Autodrome to finish ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell, who beneffitted from a virtual safety car to jump up the order and ahead of Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull.
With wet-weather chaos during the Sprint and a dry Grand Prix marked by bold strategy and controversial team decisions, who were the winners and losers in the 305?
All the winners and losers from the F1 2025 Miami GP
Find out who made the cut and who faded away in the Total-Motorsport winners and losers from the F1 2025 Miami GP.
Winner – McLaren
Utter dominance from the McLaren duo after a dicey opening to the grand prix. The sprint was taken by Norris after a well-timed neutralisation allowed a switch from intermediate to slick tyres, leaving Piastri to bemoan his luck after taking the lead from Kimi Antonelli at Turn 1.
In the main race, Norris was on the front row alongside polesitter Verstappen with Piastri fourth but as the front two once again found themselves in a controversial battle, the championship leader pounced to take the lead.
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With Verstappen going deep at the first corner and then running wide at Turn 2, Norris was given no choice but to run off track, losing multiple positions in the process. By the time he made his way back to second and the pitstop phase had come and gone, he was almost 10 seconds behind Piastri.
That interval was largely slashed by the end of the race as the Papaya cars beat the rest of the field by 33 seconds [the gap between Norris and Russell]. That’s easily the most dominant of the season, even if Verstappen was able to steal another pole on Saturday.
Loser – Ferrari
If you have one driver unhappy with a strategy over team radio then it is far from ideal. To have both drivers simultaneously annoyed is a disaster – that’s exactly what Ferrari achieved in the second half of the Miami GP.
Charles Leclerc was ahead by virtue of Lewis Hamilton’s failure to reach Q3 in qualifying, despite securing a podium in the sprint. The Briton started on the hard tyres, splitting the strategy with his team-mate and that became an issue after the pitstops, where after a battle with the Williams of Carlos Sainz, Leclerc had seen the seven-time world champion latch onto his rear wing.
Hamilton, on softer tyres, wanted to be let through to try and close down the near five-second gap to Antonelli’s Mercedes up the road, similar to how Leclerc had been helped in China. But the laps came and went as the Ferrari pitwall deliberated over what to do.
Told to keep position and stay within DRS range of Leclerc, Hamilton became frustrated. Sarcasm arrived over the airwaves and when finally told he would be able to pass, he suggested his team could have a “tea break” at the same time.
The problem was that by spending so much time behind, his medium tyres had overheated, thus limiting the grip in his tyres now clean air was afforded. Yet he had closed the gap to Antonelli down to two seconds before Ferrari called for another switch in positions, something Hamilton could hardly believe. When told the gap was 1.2 seconds to Sainz, he quipped: “You want me to let him past as well?”
Team principal Fred Vasseur suggested that Ferrari did a good job. Well when the duo lost a second to Antonelli in the second swap – likely double that with both considered plus whatever was lost in the four laps of discussion in the first place – then it is likley both Hamilton and Leclerc should have made it to the back of the Mercedes and passed the rookie. That doesn’t sound like a good job.
Winner – Williams
There’s some discourse in the ranks at Williams after a team orders disagreement between Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, but putting that to one side, the Grove-based outfit was the fourth-fastest car on track in Miami.
That is a huge coup for a team that has risen from the foot of the table to the top of the midfield in the space of just two years. The consistency of points scoring from Albon has been the lynchpin of the team’s recent successes but now that Sainz seems to have settled in his new environment, both cars are troubling the established top four.
Williams looked quick all weekend and a better points haul was only hindered by Sainz’s tribulations during the sprint part of the event, but come race day the bare facts suggest that in fifth, Albon showed the Williams was faster than Ferrari and Antonelli’s Mercedes.
Just the dominant McLaren’s and the stunning form of Verstappen and Russell in the Red Bull and Mercedes could beat the FW45 – that’s quite the difference from even last year.
Loser – Jack Doohan
The rumour mill is back underway after another first-lap exit for Jack Doohan.
The Alpine rookie has been under the kosh from the start of the season given the addition of Franco Colapinto to the reserve driver roster and despite assurances that he was safe in his seat by team principal Oliver Oakes in the opening quarter of the campaign, reports post Miami suggest that Colapinto could be back in a race seat for Imola in two weeks’ time.
The collision that took Doohan out of the race was unfortunate and really quite unavoidable. A number of cars came to a pinchpoint at the apex of Turn 1 and the Alpine made contact with Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls car.
Neither driver could simply disappear but the damage was enough for Doohan to grind to a halt in the final sector after trying to nurse his car back to the pits. If that is all we have seen of the Australian in F1, it will be a shame that he hasn’t had a real chance to prove himself.
Winner – Miami Grand Prix
It’s fair to say that the reaction to a new deal for the Miami GP that sees the race safe on the F1 calendar until 2041 was less than enthusiastic.
Plenty of fans were critical of keeping the race on the calendar when other, more traditional tracks are facing the axe, especially after three lacklustre runnings around the Hard Rock Stadium to date.
But this year’s edition was promising for the venue – overtaking was a possibility, somethat that was proven during the main grand prix. That differs from the opening part of the year where questions were being raised about the on-track product.
The weather unpredictability will also play into its future given its proximity to the coast and that is something that was displayed for the first time this weekend, where a surprise weather front hit on Saturday.
Save for the excitement of the wet Australian GP, Miami arguably served us the best race of the year thus far.
Loser – Aston Martin
It’s hard to remember that Aston Martin started this regulation cycle as Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s nearest challenger.
But now Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are largely anonymous on the F1 grid, albeit the Canadian does have points to his name this term.
Two-time champion Alonso has been getting screen time himself, though only when the car fails or he finds himself pointing in the wrong direction. That happened twice at the same complex in Miami – crashing after colliding with Lawson at Turns 11 and 12 in the sprint before spinning all by himself in the race.
The Silverstone-based team is not putting the performances together that suggest it has a state-of-the-art facilities and engineering man power that owner Lawrence Stroll has heavily invested in. Yes, eyes may be on 2026’s new regulations, but both cars finishing last of the finishers and a lap down will be of huge concern.
Do you agree with out choices for winners and losers from the 2025 Miami GP? Leave a comment below and let us know your picks.
