F1 heads to the United States for the first time this season for the Miami Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen will start the Miami GP in pole position after getting the better of both of McLaren’s championship-chasers in qualifying. Oscar Piastri finished outside the top three for the first time this season during Saturday’s session, while Lando Norris was able to back up his win in the sprint with second, only 0.065s off Verstappen’s pace.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, endured a dismal afternoon yesterday and will start the Miami GP all the way back in 12th, having gone out in Q2 for the first time at Ferrari. His teammate Charles Leclerc fared little better as both drivers struggled with their cars, with the Monegasque qualifying ninth.
Teenager Kimi Antonelli sprung the surprise of the season so far by taking pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in Miami and continued his brilliant rookie campaign with third place in qualifying, 0.002s shy of Norris. The 18-year-old will hope for another statement performance at the Miami International Autodrome tonight.
Follow live coverage of the Miami Grand Prix with The Independent
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F1 MIAMI GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES
- Max Verstappen takes pole at Miami Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton's exit in Q2
- Verstappen will chase race victory from 9pm BST
- Hamilton will have ground to make up as he starts in 12th
- Oscar Piastri leads driver standings, nine points ahead of sprint winner Lando Norris
- F1 marked Florida return by extending relationship with Miami GP until 2041
- Click HERE for the Miami GP starting grid
- PREVIEW: The missing piece for F1 in the US despite three races and two teams
Do parades get any better than this?
19:36
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Will Castle
Just 20 big kids living their best lives #F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/vt1wvSrB3E
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2025
Contact between McLaren and Alpine... and the LEGO bricks go flying! #F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/V5wFZ9bOpw
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2025
Lego cars to hit the Miami drivers' parade
19:30
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Will Castle
You don’t see this every grand prix - fully drivable Lego cars will replace the usual drivers parade truck for the Miami GP!
Each team will have its own custom car in their own colours and liveries and will drive the 5.4km track in front of all the fans ahead of the race.
Life-size LEGO F1 cars for all 10 F1 teams!
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2025
Each car is near 1:1 scale and took nearly 400,000 LEGO bricks to build!#F1 #MiamiGP @LEGO_Group pic.twitter.com/7NVLGlcDJq
Lando Norris says ‘my luck in Miami seems pretty good’ after sprint success
19:15
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Will Castle
Landon Norris took advantage of a safety car period to claim the maiden triumph of his career at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium last year - and followed it up with a sprint win yesterday, his first of any note since the opening round in Melbourne.
“My luck in Miami seems pretty good,” Norris said.
“It has worked for me two years in a row now. I would have preferred if that happened tomorrow rather than today but I will take it.”
Max Verstappen the 'daddy' in qualifying
19:00
,
Will Castle
Verstappen missed media day on Thursday for the birth of his daughter Lily - but being a father doesn’t seemed to have halted his progress.
“I thought being a dad would slow Max down, but it didn’t,” Norris joked after the qualifying session.
“Clearly it didn’t make me slower, being a dad,” Verstappen echoed.
'Podium would be a win' - Russell
18:40
,
Flo Clifford
George Russell told Sky Sports after qualifying fifth yesterday that, “A podium would be a win tomorrow. Realistically, the McLarens are out of reach. Max's race pace has been surprisingly good recently.
“We talk a lot about McLaren but Red Bull are still strong. Hopefully a bit more rain will spice things up a bit.”
Odds for the Miami GP
18:30
,
Will Castle
Here are the latest odds for the Miami Grand Prix winner, as per Betfair:
Lando Norris - 6/4
Max Verstappen - 7/4
Oscar Piastri - 13/5
Kimi Antonelli - 11/1
George Russell - 25/1
Charles Leclerc - 70/1
Carlos Sainz - 125/1
Lewis Hamilton - 125/1
Alex Albon - 125/1
F1 constructor standings ahead of Miami GP
18:20
,
Will Castle
1. McLaren - 203 points
2. Mercedes - 115 points
3. Red Bull - 89 points
4. Ferrari - 84 points
5. Williams - 30 points
6. Haas - 21 points
7. Aston Martin - 13 points
8. Racing Bulls - 10 points
9. Alpine - 6 points
10. Sauber - 6 points
F1 driver standings ahead of Miami GP
18:00
,
Will Castle
4. George Russell – 77 points
5. Charles Leclerc – 47 points
6. Kimi Antonelli – 38 points
7. Lewis Hamilton – 37 points
8. Alex Albon – 25 points
9. Esteban Ocon – 14 points
10. Lance Stroll – 13 points
11. Ollie Bearman – 7 points
12. Nico Hulkenberg – 6 points
13. Pierre Gasly – 6 points
14. Isack Hadjar – 5 points
15. Carlos Sainz – 5 points
17. Liam Lawson – 2 points
18. Fernando Alonso – 0 points
19. Jack Doohan – 0 points
20. Gabriel Bortoleto – 0 points
Piastri 'couldn't get into the rhythm' in Q3
17:40
,
Flo Clifford
Championship-chasing Oscar Piastri will hope to find his rhythm today after admitting he was off kilter during qualifying.
“I fell out of the rhythm a little bit,” Piastri (qualified fourth) says. “My best lap of qualifying was the first lap of Q2. I peaked a bit early.
“I couldn't get into the rhythm in Q3. The car was great and deserved more but both laps in Q3 were quite scruffy. That's the price you pay."
“It's going to be tight at the front [in the race]. We saw how close qualifying was and it's going to be tough to make progress.
“I think you can, and the weather is not that straightforward, so I think we can make progress but it will be difficult.”
F1 signs extraordinary new contract with Miami Grand Prix
17:30
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Will Castle
Formula One has announced a record-long contract with the Miami Grand Prix until at least the 2041 season.
The 10-year extension, with the previous deal expiring in 2031, was announced on Friday ahead of the 2025 event starting at the Miami International Autodrome.
It is now F1’s longest current contract with a grand prix, with Australia the nearest with a deal until 2037.
Lewis Hamilton makes frank admission about Ferrari pace ahead of Miami Grand Prix
17:20
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Will Castle
Lewis Hamilton has outlined what has caused a lackluster race pace and looked to teammate Charles Leclerc’s third-place podium finish in Saudi Arabia as the benchmark for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
There were “many things, lots of different things, there’s not one in particular” that caused a less-than-spectacular seventh-place result in the last race, Hamilton said during a pre-race weekend press conference.
When asked for specifics, he reflected on his time at Mercedes and the transition phase.
“When I joined Mercedes, the first six months were tough getting attuned to working with new people,” Hamilton said. “Obviously, the engineers that I’m working with now are used to setting up the car for a different driver and a different driving style. And I’m used to driving a car with a different driving style, and so it’s a combination of a bunch of different things.”
'Shame' to miss out on pole - Lando Norris
17:00
,
Flo Clifford
“I'm very happy with the end result,” Lando Norris said after qualifying.
“Just a shame when you miss out on pole, so that's the frustrating bit, but I think I've been trying different things.
“I've been doing different things with the team to try and work a bit more in this area and things hhave been taking a step forward.”
Oscar Piastri remains dominant McLaren teammate despite Lando Norris’ sprint win in Miami
16:45
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Will Castle
Despite Lando Norris coming out on top in Miami’s Saturday sprint race, Oscar Piastri remains the dominant McLaren of the driver duo.
Piastri had an advantage right away, starting ahead of Norris in second, and capitalised on it by beating pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli on the first lap’s first corner. But it wasn’t until Piastri pitted on lap 14 that Norris took the lead.
When a safety car left less than a lap up for grabs in the 18-lap sprint, Norris was the one who made it out of the pits in time to take the lead and keep it. Piastri, who had successfully held off Norris most of the race, reflected on the “cruel business” of racing post-sprint.
Contrasting fortunes for Mercedes
16:30
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Flo Clifford
Kimi Antonelli said he wanted to bounce back from losing pole in the sprint race and he certainly did that, qualifying third-quickest on Saturday.
“Really really happy with how every weekend I'm more with the car and trying to explore the limit as well. And so far this weekend, I felt really good in the car. So that's definitely a positive,” the 18-year-old said.
Compare that to teammate George Russell, who was fifth in qualifying, his worst result of the season, and said on race radio through qualy that he had “no confidence” in the car.
F1 agrees extension with Mexican Grand Prix despite absence of key driver
16:15
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Flo Clifford
F1 has agreed a three-year extension with the Mexican Grand Prix, taking the race to at least the 2028 season.
Mexico City’s previous deal with the sport expired after this year’s race in October, with an extension seemingly up in the air given the absence of home hero Sergio Perez from this year’s grid.
But despite that, on Wednesday, F1 announced the contract extension, with a three-year deal taking the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez into a 13th year in the modern era.
Perez, who was dropped by Red Bull after a poor 2024 campaign, is also being strongly linked with a 2026 race seat at Cadillac, with the American-owned outfit joining the sport as an 11th team next season.
Three races, two teams – but F1 in the United States is still missing one key component
16:00
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Flo Clifford
The sorry sight of Floridian youngster Logan Sargeant trudging away from his burning Williams car last summer at the Dutch Grand Prix represented his final failed foray in Formula One. Quickly axed by team principal James Vowles, Sargeant lost his F1 seat after 36 races and one point. In doing so, a rare US presence among the 20-driver grid was no more.
Since Mario Andretti won the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix – the same year he claimed his sole F1 world championship, America’s only title to this day – no US driver has won a race. In fact, in the 47 years since, only Eddie Cheever in the 1980s has recorded more than one podium. Sargeant’s only point, awarded post-race in Austin in 2023, was America’s first point in the drivers’ standings since Mario’s son, Michael, finished third in Monza in 1994.
A puzzling record, you may think, for a sport which has in the last decade boomed almost unfathomably across the Atlantic. Miami, which debuted in 2022 a year ahead of the Las Vegas night race, hosts its fourth edition this weekend with its typical high-octane offering of sunshine, showbiz and style.
Mercedes announce release of Kimi Antonelli ‘The Seat’ documentary on Netflix
15:45
,
Flo Clifford
Mercedes have announced a new documentary, titled ‘The Seat’, that will air on Netflix next week, charting Kimi Antonelli’s promotion to a race seat at the team in 2025.
The 45-minute documentary will reveal the “private conversations” between Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and 18-year-old Italian prodigy Antonelli last year, leading to the teenager taking Lewis Hamilton’s seat at the Silver Arrows.
Lewis Hamilton seals podium as Lando Norris wins dramatic Miami GP sprint
15:30
,
Flo Clifford
As the safety car peeled into the pits with less than a lap to go, Lando Norris’ papaya orange McLaren crossed the finish line to clinch the Miami GP sprint win on Saturday afternoon.
The second sprint race of six across the 2025 F1 season began in a chaotic fashion — even before the 20 cars lined up on the starting grid as Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari slipped off the rain-slick track and hit the barriers. The mini-race was more of a tyre strategy test as the clouds parted and the track dried up.
After a wet weather delay, the five lights went out and Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli lost his pole-sitter position off the starting line to Oscar Piastri, who led the majority of the 19-lap race, as the two nearly collided.
The 18-year-old was positioned to become the second-youngest F1 race winner but fell short as he lost three places in the first lap. Antonelli, who hoped to cross the checkered flag first, had his dreams of standing on the top podium step crushed as he finished in seventh.
Lewis Hamilton misses shootout for pole with Ferrari ‘struggling big time’ in Miami
15:59
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Will Castle
Lewis Hamilton has said Ferrari is “struggling big time” after he only qualified 12th for the Miami Grand Prix, exiting in Q2 for the first time for the Scuderia.
“We will keep trying. We are only six races in but we are struggling big time,” Hamilton told Sky Sports after qualifying.
“We are trying our hardest not to make big set-up changes but no matter what we do it's so inconsistent every time we go out.”
Max Verstappen on pole for Miami GP as Lewis Hamilton hit with shock Q2 exit
16:00
,
Will Castle
Max Verstappen turned an unspectacular weekend into one to remember for Red Bull after a mighty qualifying lap put the four-time world champion on pole for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
Verstappen topped the first session of qualifying but failed to break into the top three in the second. The third session proved Red Bull’s upgrade package was a fruitful one as a 0.065-second lead put the Dutch driver on top. He was trailed by Lando Norris’ McLaren while Mercedes rookie and sprint pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli rounded out the qualifying podium.
Starting grid for Miami GP
10:00
,
Flo Clifford
1) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2) Lando Norris (McLaren)
3) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
4) Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5) George Russell (Mercedes)
6) Carlos Sainz (Williams)
7) Alex Albon (Williams)
8) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
9) Esteban Ocon (Haas)
10) Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
11) Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
12) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
13) Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
14) Jack Doohan (Alpine)
15) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
16. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
17. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
20. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
2025 F1 calendar in full
09:00
,
Flo Clifford
ROUND 6 - MIAMI (sprint weekend)
Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium - 2-4 May
ROUND 7 - EMILIA ROMAGNA
Imola Circuit - 16-18 May
ROUND 8 - MONACO
Circuit de Monaco - 23-25 May
ROUND 9 - SPAIN
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - 30 May-1 June
ROUND 10 - CANADA
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal - 13-15 June
ROUND 11 - AUSTRIA
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 27-29 June
ROUND 12 - GREAT BRITAIN
Silverstone Circuit - 4-6 July
ROUND 13 - BELGIUM (sprint weekend)
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 25-27 July
ROUND 14 - HUNGARY
Hungaroring, Budapest - 1-3 August
ROUND 15 - NETHERLANDS
Circuit Zandvoort - 29-31 August
ROUND 16 - ITALY
Monza Circuit - 5-7 September
ROUND 17 - AZERBAIJAN
Baku City Circuit - 19-21 September
ROUND 18 - SINGAPORE
Marina Bay Street Circuit - 3-5 October
ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend)
Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 17-19 October
ROUND 20 - MEXICO
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 24-26 October
ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend)
Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 7-9 November
ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Street Circuit - 20-22 November
ROUND 23 - QATAR (sprint weekend)
Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 28-30 November
ROUND 24 - ABU DHABI
Yas Marina Circuit - 5-7 December
How can I watch it online and on TV?
08:30
,
Flo Clifford
The Miami Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States. Sky’s coverage of Sunday’s race starts at 7:30pm (GMT).
Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action in Miami on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the Miami Grand Prix then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help.
Miami GP start time
08:00
,
Flo Clifford
Sunday 4 May
- Race: 9pm BST
Miami GP LIVE
15:37
,
Will Castle
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the Miami Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen starts in pole position after getting the best of both of McLaren’s championship-chasers in qualifying.
Oscar Piastri finished outside the top three for the first time this season during Saturday’s session, while Lando Norris was able to back up his win in the sprint with second, only 0.065s off Verstappen’s pace.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, endured a dismal afternoon yesterday and will start the Miami GP all the way back in 12th, having gone out in Q2 for the first time at Ferrari.
We’ll have all the action and build-up, right here.
