MIAMI LOWDOWN: All the key moments as McLaren and Antonelli shine, Ferrari face tensions and LEGO takes over

The Miami Grand Prix was an action-packed weekend from start to finish – and in case you missed any of it, we’ve rounded up all of the key moments from F1’s visit to the Miami International Autodrome.

From a new parent and a first-time polesitter through to a chaotic Sprint and a McLaren team in a class of their own – not to mention plenty of celebrities and some life-size LEGO cars – check out the highlights from Miami in our ultimate lowdown…

READ MORE: Piastri wins from Norris and Russell as McLaren seal commanding 1-2 in Miami Grand Prix

McLaren shine in the sunshine state

Despite arriving into the weekend as the favourites – given that Oscar Piastri became the new championship leader with his win last time out in Saudi Arabia – McLaren did not have things all their own way as the action began in Miami.

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli (more on whom later) beat both papaya cars to pole in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, while Max Verstappen also triumphed ahead of the team when it was time to qualify again on Saturday, this time for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

However, those blips did not hinder McLaren’s performance in race trim. During a dramatic wet-dry Sprint, Piastri quickly snatched the lead from Antonelli at Turn 1 and looked on course for victory until a frenetic sequence later on saw Lando Norris take the lead when Piastri pitted for slick tyres – just as a Safety Car was deployed, meaning that the Briton could make his stop and maintain P1.

While the order was perhaps not the one that Piastri had expected to finish in, it was a strong day for McLaren nonetheless. But even better was to come on Sunday, despite Norris having to start second behind Verstappen while Piastri lined up down in fourth.

HIGHLIGHTS: Piastri leads McLaren 1-2 after thrilling race in Miami

With Verstappen initially holding the lead – while Norris slipped down the order after going wide during an early battle with the Dutchman, allowing Antonelli and Piastri to move ahead of him – Verstappen soon found himself under pressure from Piastri, leading to the Australian eventually overtaking before Norris then followed suit.

From then on the McLarens looked to be on another planet, with Piastri leading home Norris in a 1-2 formation that saw the championship leader cross the line a staggering 37 seconds clear of third-placed George Russell. There was no doubt that this was a commanding performance from the reigning Teams’ Champions.

Verstappen’s eventful weekend

Before the track action had even started in Miami, Verstappen was already having an eventful start to race week. It was confirmed ahead of Thursday’s media day that the Dutchman would be absent due to expecting a baby with partner Kelly Piquet.

After much talk in the paddock over whether becoming a father may slow him down – with the verdict generally being that it would not – it was subsequently confirmed that Verstappen and Piquet had welcomed a baby girl named Lily.

The new dad then arrived at the Miami International Autodrome on Friday, where he went straight into action for a busy Sprint weekend ahead. Saturday proved to be especially dramatic for the World Champion, having firstly picked up a 10-second time penalty in the Sprint for an unsafe release in the pits, a punishment that dropped him out of the points.

READ MORE: ‘You’ve got to get involved in the nappies’ – Horner offers advice to new dad Verstappen as he predicts how fatherhood will affect him

But just hours later he made up for this disappointment by putting in a stunning performance in Qualifying. After taking provisional pole during the first runs of Q3, Verstappen’s chances of maintaining it looked to be in jeopardy thanks to a wobble on his final effort – but impressively he still turned this into the fastest lap of all, sealing pole position for Sunday’s race.

As if any more ups and downs were needed, Verstappen faced further turmoil in the Grand Prix, having initially held the lead after that aforementioned scrap with Norris before eventually losing out to both Piastri and Norris later on.

After missing out on third to George Russell thanks to the Mercedes man pitting during a Virtual Safety Car period, Verstappen had to settle for fourth as his incredibly busy week on and off track drew to a close.

Ferrari team orders drama

Having taken P8 and P12 respectively in a disappointing Qualifying on Saturday, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both looked keen to make gains during Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.

While Leclerc generally found himself running close to the position he had started in, Hamilton had climbed his way up the order as the race progressed, meaning that the pair eventually ended up running together in seventh and eighth.

READ MORE: 'It was frustrating' – Hamilton opens up on tense Miami radio messages during Ferrari strategy debate

However, Hamilton went on to suggest that he should be allowed to move ahead of Leclerc, with the seven-time World Champion running the medium tyres – in contrast to the hards on his team mate’s SF-25 – which could potentially help him to close the gap to Antonelli ahead.

With Ferrari taking some time to make a decision on the matter, Hamilton appeared increasingly frustrated as he commented that keeping him behind was “not good teamwork”. He also sarcastically told the team to “have a tea break while you are at it” as they mulled over the issue.

Eventually Hamilton was allowed through – but, after being unable to catch Antonelli, a plan was made to reverse the positions. This decision was communicated to Leclerc, who awaited the move – but Hamilton had not been told, meaning that there was a delay in it being enacted.

The Briton moved aside after being informed, but the messy handling of the situation led to Leclerc stating: “We’ll discuss after the race.”

A dramatic Sprint

The paddock may not have been in Las Vegas this weekend, but Norris rolled the dice and came out on top, denying his team mate Piastri victory of a Sprint he had led from the very first lap after a masterful pass on polesitter Antonelli.

Dramatic changes in the weather are known to be the great disruptor in F1, and the Miami Sprint was no different. After a heavy spell of rain, the formation lap behind the Safety Car saw drivers hindered by the vast amounts of spray being thrown up by standing water on the circuit, leading to the Sprint being delayed.

READ MORE: Norris wins chaotic Miami Sprint from Piastri and Hamilton after late Safety Car and multiple incidents

The chaos didn’t stop at lights out either, when the conditions were still suboptimal but safe enough to race in. With Antonelli starting from pole for the first time, Piastri sailed past him at the first corner and sent the Mercedes wide, resulting in the rookie dropping back to P4.

But while the damp track aided Piastri to start with, it quickly began to dry out, allowing Norris to close the gap down drastically before the Australian peeled off into the pits for slick tyres with five laps remaining.

Critically, McLaren opted to pit Norris a lap later, and it was whilst he was switching tyres that the Safety Car was called due to a collision between Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson that had left the former stationary on the track. The slowed-down cars therefore meant that the Briton could calmly adopt the lead.

With just a few laps remaining, there wasn’t quite enough time to clear the Aston Martin, so the Sprint ended behind the Safety Car and Norris claimed the win, echoing his maiden victory at this circuit in 2024.

A smart early move to get rid of the intermediate tyres saw Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton claim the final podium spot, but it took some time for the full order to be set in stone as a trio of penalties relegated Alex Albon, Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman from the top eight.

Antonelli shows his exciting potential

The spotlight had been on Antonelli firmly throughout his junior career ever since Mercedes recruited him to join their ranks back in 2018, when he was just 12 years old – and that attention increased once again as he made his mark on the streets of Miami.

With Russell labelling Mercedes as the season’s third-fastest team, not many people would have expected them to start from pole position for the Sprint, especially not at the hands of their teenage driver. But that’s exactly what happened as Antonelli beat both McLarens, the reigning World Champion in Verstappen, and his team mate to the top spot.

READ MORE: Antonelli gives verdict on first corner move from Piastri as he reflects on Verstappen pit lane incident during tough Miami Sprint

A combination of inexperience on the front row in F1 and simple misfortune saw him drop out of the points in the Sprint itself – whilst heading to his pit box, the Italian encountered Verstappen, who had been released unsafely and forced him into taking evasive action.

But the post-Sprint penalties promoted him back into the points, and the later Qualifying hour demonstrated that his bad luck had not dissuaded him. With the battle for pole wide open once again, Antonelli found himself just 0.067s adrift of Verstappen’s session-topping time and 0.002s behind Norris, setting him up for P3 on the Grand Prix grid.

He was ultimately unable to retain the position as Piastri, Norris, Russell, Verstappen and the unexpectedly quick Alex Albon got the better of him on track, with a slow stop not helping matters, but he finished the weekend with a satisfying P6.

A LEGO drivers' parade

There was a race with a difference ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, as all 20 Formula 1 drivers took part in a drivers' parade at the wheel of lifesize LEGO cars, bespoke with each team's car colours and liveries.

Based on the LEGO F1 Speed Champions range and designed to celebrate Formula 1 and the LEGO Group’s ongoing, multi-year partnership, the unique one-off spectacle allowed fans to catch a glimpse of their favourite drivers in a quirky setting.

READ MORE: Driveable LEGO big builds welcomed to Miami drivers’ parade

Each of the cars, which were built to almost a 1:1 scale, were constructed using nearly 400,000 LEGO bricks, weighing 1,000kg and hit speeds of 20kph while using authentic Pirelli tyres.

Despite several incidents during the lap, the 'race' was won by the Alpine pairing of Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan ahead of the 57-lap main event on Sunday.

Emily Prazer, Chief Commercial Officer at Formula 1, said: “As a sport synonymous with innovation and pushing boundaries, it was amazing to see another first for our sport as the big builds made their way around the track in the hands of the best drivers in the world. Our partnership with the LEGO Group enables us to inject a lot of fun into the Grand Prix experience and engage new audiences, and we can’t wait to see what else we can dream up together.”

Celebrities as far as the eye can see

Miami always attracts plenty of celebrities, and this season was no different. Terry Crews was posing for plenty of photos on the grid, while Evander Holyfield was wandering around and taking in all the sights and sounds of F1.

Boxer Conor Benn was enjoying life on the F1 grid for the first time, while actor Timothée Chalamet was seen sporting a Racing Bulls shirt as he made his allegiance known.

READ MORE: Cadillac unveil their team logo and brand during dazzling Miami launch event ahead of 2026 entry

Speed merchants Michael Johnson and Lindsey Vonn were both in attendance earlier in the weekend, while Sunday saw the grid fill up with stars from all walks of life, including plenty of musicians.

But there was one celebrity who captured everyone’s hearts and who was a big enough fan to come to every day of action – little Leo Leclerc. Charles Leclerc’s dog was impeccably well behaved throughout the weekend, and hopefully could console his Dad after a tricky race for the Ferrari man.

F1 movie soundtrack revealed

Speaking of musicians, there was a reason so many were in Miami for the sixth Grand Prix of the season. The soundtrack for the upcoming Apple Original Films’ F1 movie has been revealed, with Ed Sheeran, ROSÉ and RAYE on the list.

The film itself is released on June 27 and the soundtrack, F1 THE ALBUM, features an exciting mix of established and new talent, with plenty of original songs.

READ MORE: Soundtrack artists including Doja Cat, Ed Sheeran and Don Toliver announced for upcoming ‘F1’ movie

That wasn’t the only big music news from Miami, with Tiësto making history as the first artist to deliver performances both before the Formation Lap and after the race.

Tiësto got the crowd on their feet with both sets, and is another artist to feature on the F1 movie album too. He described the Miami weekend vibes as “epic” and it was hard to disagree.

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