Oscar Piastri secured his third win in a row of the 2025 F1 season this past Sunday in Miami. The Australian driver went from fourth on the grid to finish first. Having done so, he leads the F1 Drivers’ Championship over McLaren team-mate Lando Norris by 16 points. The Aussie spoke after his F1 Miami GP victory on the challenges he faced on track and how he did a lot of things right – but also benefited from some good fortune.
A 6th career F1 Grand Prix victory for Piastri at Miami GP
The hard work had to be done early on by Piastri before he was able to benefit from running in free air. This was due to the fact that he had to get in front of Max Verstappen on his way to his 6th career F1 Grand Prix victory. The Australian reflected on the challenge the Dutchman brought him.
“It was tough at the beginning trying to get past Max.” explained Piastri. “I tried pretty hard to get past, with everything still on my car. It was not easy but I picked my moments when I needed to. I could tell that we had a lot of pace from the get-go today, and it was going to be a matter of when I got past, not if. But I wanted to do it as efficiently as I could because I knew once Lando got back behind me, he was going to be catching us a lot.”
The Australian had a far smoother time negotiating his way in front of Mercedes’ driver Kimi Antonelli prior to this. A point reflected on by Piastri in his post-race remarks at the F1 Miami GP.
“Kimi was very nice to me and didn’t make life very tough, which is nice when you race against people who identify when someone’s quicker and don’t make the race more difficult for both of us. So that was nice of him.”
It was a matter of just biding my time
A different story when it came to passing Verstappen. However, Piastri knew this would be the case but was confident in the pace that he had from his McLaren: “It was a matter of just biding my time, waiting for a moment, or forcing him into a moment. That’s what I was able to do. Once I got past, I knew I had to try and build a gap while Lando was behind him. That got me the win.”
Who is Piastri’s main competition?
It looks very likely that Piastri’s main competition will be coming from teammate Norris and Verstappen. With that in mind, he was asked as to what he thinks is going to be harder: to overtake Verstappen or to keep Norris behind?
“Both very different challenges, I would say. On days like today, our two cars were clearly the best in the field by some margin. I know how strong Lando is as a driver, being his teammate now for a couple of years. It’s never easy. But also, racing Max is never easy, as we saw.”
Two years ago they were slowest in Miami
However, McLaren know all too well how quickly things change. Just two years ago they were slowest in Miami and lapped twice by the victor. Piastri unsurprisingly said that compared to back then: “it’s an incredibly different place to be.” He also paid tribute to the determination and the hard work – that has always been there. These comments confirm that he never lost faith that success was on the horizon.
“We knew that things were in the pipeline to help us come back to the front.” Piastri admitted. “So, while we got lapped twice that day in Miami two years ago, there was optimism and determination, still. Clearly, last year with Lando’s win, that was nice for the whole team in terms of finally having a car capable of winning a race again, on merit.”
When is it time to switch focus to next year?
Having seen McLaren’s nearest rivals finish 35-second behind, there is inevitably talk that the team should stop focusing on this year’s car and move on to next year? Sunday’s race winner does not anticipate such an approach but knows the decision is not his to make.
“I don’t know. There are a lot of other smarter people than me who calculate when it’s time to switch to next year. Clearly, we do have a strong advantage at the moment, but not every weekend has looked like this.”
The facts support such a comment as last weekend in Saudi Arabia the competition was closer. Obviously, one dominant weekend does not make a season. McLaren definitely hold an advantage over their rivals – a point stated by Piastri: “Sometimes it’s a little, sometimes a lot. Clearly, in this position now, we have a lot of focus on next year. We want to make sure we win both championships this year and put ourselves in a good spot for next year.”
A post-race Griddy for Piastri at Miami GP
Shortly after exiting his car beneath the podium in parc fermé, the jubilant Aussie was spotted doing a Griddy. This is a dance move in which a person alternatingly taps their heels, either in place or while walking, while swinging their arms back and forth. The McLaren driver explained where the inspiration to do so came from. Although, he also pointed out that it is not something he shall be attempting again anytime soon.
“I knew that was going to be the question! It was an attempt at a Griddy, as you can tell, poorly executed. I met Justin Jefferson [NFL Minnesota Vikings wide receiver] on Thursday, who has essentially made the Griddy world famous, and stupidly made a bet with him that if I won the race, then I would do one for him. After qualifying yesterday, I didn’t practice because I thought that was definitely not going to be needed. So yeah, that was my first attempt at a Griddy live on world TV. I stayed true to the bet, but that’s the one and only time you’ll be seeing me do that.”
Finishing 37 seconds ahead of the first non-McLaren car at Miami GP
McLaren dominated Miami. Having secured a 1’2 in the Sprint, the form continued for the Woking-based manufacturer. After finishing 37 seconds ahead of the first non-McLaren car, Piastri was asked as to where there is still work to do?
“Celebrations – that’s definitely top of the list at the moment!” quipped the 24-year-old in another reference to his Griddy before continuing. “I think this weekend was not my best, and a lot of that was yesterday. The race today was pretty solid, but yesterday I was pretty frustrated with my performance. Ultimately, yes, I won the race this weekend, but I think the likelihood of winning many races [after] qualifying fourth is pretty low. I did a lot of things right today, but there was definitely some good fortune there as well, and a very quick car. I don’t want to rely on that every single Sunday.”
Sunday showed that even if we do not see the Griddy in F1 again, it is certainly not going to be the last time that will see Piastri on the top step. Sunday’s achievement made him the first Australian in 46 years to win three Grands Prix in a row. The composure, race pace and tactical nuance shown by the Australian racer has him leading the way and setting the standard. It is now down to his rivals to see if they can catch up with him.
