There was one episode that could have radically changed the face of the race just a few corners in—and it did have a significant impact: the Turn 2 incident, where Max Verstappen and Lando Norris clashed, sending the Brit off track and forcing him to lose several positions.
After a lock-up from the Dutchman in Turn 1, Norris managed to pull alongside Verstappen before Turn 2—at least until the four-time world champion pushed him beyond the outer kerb, dropping him even behind both Williams cars.
In fact, Max Verstappen himself had to correct his trajectory twice after losing the rear of the car: first as he started to push Norris wide, and then again when he hit the kerb, where a clear moment of oversteer left him briefly exposed to a possible move from Andrea Kimi Antonelli, which ultimately didn’t materialise.
Lando Norris saw a gap and went for the move, but it ended up costing him dearly: going over the kerb, he dropped to the back of the field and spent the rest of the race chasing down Oscar Piastri. After the chequered flag, the Brit was very clear in his post-race comments about the battle with Verstappen. “What can I say? If I don’t try, people complain. If I do try, people complain. So you can’t win. But that’s really how it is—that’s how it works with Max,” Lando Norris said after the race.
“With Max, either you make contact, or you don’t get through. Unless you do everything perfectly and place the car exactly right, it’s really difficult. I paid the price for not doing a perfect job, but I’m still very happy with second place,” he added, though clearly aware he had lost seven valuable points to Oscar Piastri in a race that had seemed within reach.
The race definitively slipped away when Lando Norris caught back up to Max Verstappen: the Dutchman defended superbly, slowing the McLaren driver’s charge while Oscar Piastri, taking advantage of the battle behind, extended his lead to nine seconds.
A very difficult gap to close, especially without the help of any external race incidents. Despite that, Norris maintained excellent pace in the second stint and managed to cut the gap in half. But it wasn’t enough, and the Brit had to settle for a bittersweet second place—though he tried to focus on the positives, pointing out the strong race pace in the second half of the Miami Grand Prix.
“It’s never a good feeling, but the team did an amazing job, so I can only thank them. We had excellent pace, and that’s a great feeling. Oscar drove well, Max fought as always and I paid the price—but that’s how it went.”
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