Lando Norris cruised to a comfortable victory. © APA / CLIVE MASON

Norris puts an end to Mercedes' dominance

World champion Lando Norris drove to an unchallenged start-to-finish victory in the second Formula 1 sprint of the season in Miami.

02 May 2026

From: apa/sn

The Briton led a McLaren one-two finish ahead of Oscar Piastri in the short race in Florida, the first since the five-week hiatus due to the Iran-Iraq War. Charles Leclerc completed the podium in his Ferrari. For the first time this season, no Mercedes driver won; championship leader Kimi Antonelli lost fourth place due to a penalty received after the race.

The 19-year-old Italian had repeatedly exceeded track limits and, after receiving a five-second penalty, dropped behind his teammate George Russell and four-time champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. Russell thus reduced his deficit in the World Championship standings to seven points. Following the rule changes for the new hybrid engines and the long break, the "Silver Arrows" appear to have lost their dominance in Formula 1. Record world champion Lewis Hamilton had to settle for seventh place in the second Ferrari. Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix also takes place on Saturday (10:00 PM).

A minute's silence for Zanardi

After a minute's silence for the late former F1 driver Alex Zanardi, the drivers switched back into race mode for the first time since the cancellation of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. For the first time this year, no Mercedes started from pole position. While Norris defended his lead, Antonelli dropped two places behind Piastri and Leclerc. Due to a rule change to the starting procedure, the Ferraris didn't get off the line as quickly as usual, but Hamilton still overtook Verstappen on the first lap to move into sixth place.

Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton early on. © APA / RUDY CAREZZEVOLI

On lap 7 of 19, Russell overtook Antonelli, but the teenager quickly retaliated. Behind them, Hamilton and Verstappen battled it out, with the Red Bull driver ultimately coming out on top. McLaren, revamped thanks to numerous upgrades, is thus also the favorite in qualifying, while Mercedes will only bring new parts to the Silver Arrow at the next Grand Prix in Canada in three weeks.