Before the race started in Miami, fans had anticipated another win for Max Verstappen . However, as the event unraveled, Kevin Magnussen had a clash with Logan Sargeant , leading to a safety car, which came at an opportunistic time for McLaren‘s Lando Norris , who got a vital pitstop.
The race started with Max Verstappen leading from lap one, with Oscar Piastri making moves to claim the second place. Moreover, in stark contrast, Lando Norris was battling for a top-five position with Sergio Perez. However, on lap 28, Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant clashed with each other, requiring the FIA to dispatch the safety car, giving Norris the lead in the race (A few moments earlier Verstappen dropped down in the pecking order because of his pit stop).
The Williams was left in a dangerous position on track and this forced the decision makers to bring out a sudden safety car.
Due to their incident, the 24-year-old found himself in a prime position to make his pitstop and come out still leading the race. Subsequently, he came into the pits for a new set of boots and inherited the race lead with a tire advantage against the RB20 of Verstappen.
McLaren warned Oscar Piastri during the Miami GP
The English team would have expected a podium to be too mighty a task in Miami against their rivals’ pace. However, when they found themselves in the lead position, McLaren tried to make sure that there was no possibility that Norris would lose out on his maiden win.
While Norris was leading, Piastri had a challenging outing after his collision with Carlos Sainz‘s SF-24.
Lando[Norris] is leading the race. We do not want to cause a safety car. McLaren said to Oscar Piastri on radio
Piastri’s slow pace and a late front wing change had urged the team to instruct him to take no risks. Had there been another safety car, Norris would have been on the receiving end of an attack from Verstappen, and could have lost his lead and race win yet again. However, to McLaren and the Brit’s fortune, the latter pulled off a sensational victory.
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